Marc Meneau (16 March 1943 – 9 December 2020) was a French chef, who earned three stars from the

Guide Michelin The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

. He was the chef of the restaurant ''L'Espérance'' located in

Saint-Père, Yonne Saint-Père () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department *Parc naturel régional du Morvan Morvan Regional Natural Park (French: ''Parc naturel régiona ...

Early life

Meneau was born in

Avallon Avallon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in central-eastern France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish languag ...

on 16 March 1943. A native of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, Meneau never really departed his native region. Going to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1961 to join a hotel school, he then returned to take over the grocery store of his mother, Marguerite, located in Saint-Père in the town of

Vézelay Vézelay () is a commune in the department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Romanesque Basilica of St Magdalene are de ...

. With the help of his wife Françoise (daughter of a Burgundian restaurant owner) and as a self-taught cooking chef, he transformed it into a restaurant and started inventing recipes which he published soon after. He was eager to learn and started looking at books of old cuisine chefs, which helped him develop into a famous chef specialized in old cuisine.

Career

He received his first

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

in 1972 and decided to move his restaurant to a larger premises that he named ''L'Espérance''. In 1975 he received his second Michelin star. In 1983, he was elected the best French chef of the year (Meilleur Cuisinier Français de l'Année) and received a third Michelin star and the grade of 19/20 at the

Gault et Millau Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 points ...

. He planted 16 hectares of vine to give another life to the famous wine Bourgogne-Vézelay (

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

). However, he lost his third Michelin star in 1999. In 2003, he created the EntreVignes, a

bistro A bistro or bistrot , is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant, serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. French home-style cooking, and slow-cooked foods ...

opposite of his restaurant, an idea given by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

, who was familiar with the area. The in 2004, Marc Meneau finally got his third Michelin star back. By 2007, Meneau had several financial problems and the bankruptcy of his business. This led to the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

deleting his entry from its 2007 edition, assuming that the business of Marc Meneau was about to close. However, ''L'Espérance'' continued to trade and appeared again in the

with its two stars. In 2010, Marc Meneau planted his own

kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

, which is certified, in the park of his restaurant ''L'Espérance''.

Death

He died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. Th ...

on 9 December 2020.

Honours

*1983 : Meilleur Cuisinier de l'Année by the guide

Gault-Millau Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 poin ...

(elected) *1985 : Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (named) *1987 : Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of Merit (named) *1988 : Meilleur Chef de l'Année by the magazine ''Le Chef'' (elected) *1993 : Officer (Officier) of the National Order of Merit (named) *1998 : 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, ...

(named) *2012 : elected Talent d'Or at the Talents du Luxe et de la Création

Followers

Chefs were trained by Marc Meneau *

Ludo Lefebvre Ludovic Lefebvre (; born 18 April 1971) is a Michelin-star French chef, restaurateur, author, and television personality. He trained in France for 12 years before moving to Los Angeles. He was awarded the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five Sta ...

Kilien Stengel Kilien Stengel (born 1972 in Nevers (Nièvre)), is a French gastronomic author, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He has worked at Gidleigh Park, Nikko Hotels, Georges V Hotel in Paris, and in a number of Relais & Châteaux restaurants (incl ...

Filmography

*2000 : '' Vatel'' by

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits includ ...

with

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 alm ...

François Vatel François Vatel (; 1631 – 24 April 1671) was the majordomo (in French, ) of Nicolas Fouquet and prince Louis II de Bourbon-Condé. Vatel was born either in Switzerland or in Paris in 1625, 1631, or 1635. He is widely credited with creating ...

: elaboration of the gargantuan buffets of the film *2006 : ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

'' by

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola (; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and actress. The youngest child and only daughter of filmmakers Eleanor Coppola, Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola, she made her film debut as an infant in her father's acclaimed ...

: ballet of the buffets

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meneau, Marc 1943 births French chefs People from Avallon Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2020 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France