Jean-Pierre Coffe (; 24 March 1938 – 29 March 2016) was a French

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...

, and author.

Early life and education

Jean-Pierre Coffe spent a major part of his childhood in the town where he was born,

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lun ...

. He never knew his father, mobilized in 1937 and killed on the field of battle in 1940. He was raised by his mother, who took over the family hairdressing salon. His grandmother was a cook and his grandfather a

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

er. His mother left

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

for

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he studied at boarding school. At the age of 13, he was seized by a passion for theatre. After completing his studies, he took classes at the Cours Simon and had a number of small jobs at the same time.

Television career

Jean-Pierre Coffe then began a career in television in the early 1980s. He joined

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

on November 4, 1984, and appeared on a number of occasions in the programs hosted by

Michel Denisot Michel Maurice Daniel Denisot (; born 16 April 1945)Michel Denisot
on ''premiere.fr''. is a F ...

. In 1992 and 1993, he made his first appearances in ''La Grande Famille'' hosted by

Jean-Luc Delarue Jean-Luc Delarue (24 June 1964 – 23 August 2012) was a French television presenter and producer specialising in televised discussion programmes. Early life and education Delarue was born in Paris on the 24 June 1964. His mother, an Englis ...

and ''Demain'' hosted by Michel Denisot for the cooking theme. He then joined the French public television channels where he hosted a cooking program with children titled ''Comment c'est fait ?'' ("How is it done?") from 1992 to 1993 on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

, followed in 1994 by ''C'est tout Coffe'' ("This is all Coffe") on

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

. He joined private channel TF1 in 1999 to present ''Bien jardiner'' ("Gardening well"), produced by

, who finally decided to end the broadcast soon after, which marked the end of their friendship. In 2003, he joined

Michel Drucker Michel Drucker, CQ (born 12 September 1942 in Vire) is a popular French journalist and TV host. He has been on screen for so long on various shows and different networks, both public and private, that he once said that some people joked that h ...

on France 2 where he served as a food critic in the program ''Vivement dimanche prochain''. On 5 September 2012 he announced his departure of the program to spend more time on writing.

Radio career

In September 1990 he joined the team of ''

Les Grosses Têtes Les Grosses Têtes (; ("The Big Heads" or "The Big Brains" in English) is a daily comedy radio programme on the French language RTL radio network. Broadcast since 1 April 1977, the current host since 2014 has been Laurent Ruquier. Presently bro ...

,'' a radio program hosted by

Philippe Bouvard Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL, from 1982 to 1986 he hosted the television ...

on RTL, for which he became a regular participant. He left in September 2010 and soon after joined the program ''On va s'gêner,'' hosted by

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...

Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...

, which he left after one season in 2011. In 2014, he returned to ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on RTL when Laurent Ruquier took over as presenter. From 1998 to June 2008, he presented the program ''Ça se bouffe pas, ça se mange'' on

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

every Saturday. At the end of the show on June 21, 2008, he announced his forced retirement by France Inter management.

In 1997, he appeared in advertising spots for the appliance manufacturer

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

. In 2001, he appeared in advertising spots for Weight Watchers. In 2009, as a defender of healthy and natural food, he became famous for appearing on poster campaigns for the hard discount store brand

Leader Price Leader Price, (full name: ''Société S.A. Leader Price Holding''), is a French discount store chain of the Groupe Casino, headquartered in Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2 ...

Books

Coffe published many books, ranging from recipes and gardening, to critiques of mass-produced food production and the manufacture of commercial food products. Some of his best-sellers were: * Le Bon Vivre (Living Well) and Le Vrai Vivre (Authentic Living) in 1992, * Comme à la Maison (Homely cooking) in 1993, * Le Potager Plaisir (The Joy of Home-grown Food) and Le Marché (The Food Market) in 1998, * Fleurs Bonheur (The Joy of Flowers) in 1999, * Le Verger Gourmand (The Greedy Gardener) in 2000, * La Véritable Histoire des Jardins de Versailles (The True History of the Gardens of Versailles), with Alain Baraton in 2007, * Les Recettes Inratables de Jean-Pierre Coffe (Jean-Pierre Coffe's Failure-proof Recipes) in 2007, * Mes Confitures (My Jams) in 2008, and * Le Plaisir à Petit Prix (Good Food on a Budget) in 2009.

Private life

Jean-Pierre Coffe was a private individual, however he has declared his bisexuality publicly, notably in 2011 during an interview with MFM Radio and in 2013 during

's programme ''La parenthèse inattendue''. Married three times to women, Jean-Pierre Coffe lived his final years with a man, whom he declared himself ready to marry in 2013. Jean-Pierre Coffe had a son who died shortly after birth and a step-daughter who died aged 35.

Death

On 29 March 2016, Coffe died at his home in Lanneray.« Jean-Pierre Coffe est mort à l'âge de 78 ans »
on ''rtl.fr'', March 29, 2016

Filmography

Honors

* Chevalier (Knight) of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

* Commander of the

Order of Agricultural Merit The Order of Agricultural Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite agricole) is an order of merit bestowed by the French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the ...

References

External links

Official site of Jean-Pierre Coffe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffe, Jean-Pierre 1938 births 2016 deaths French radio presenters French television presenters French food writers People from Lunéville French male non-fiction writers LGBT broadcasters from France Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur LGBT writers from France