Paul Haeberlin (24 November 1923 – 10 May 2008) was a French

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

. He was the owner of

Auberge de l’Ill Auberge is a French word for an inn or hostel, and is also sometimes used to refer to a restaurant (as a result of the historical association between inns and restaurants). It is also the name of a nightclub in Abergavenny and is often mistaken for ...

, a classical French

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, which was first awarded a 3-star Michelin Rating in 1967 and continues to be one of the oldest 3-star establishments in France. His restaurant has served as a school for many of the world's premier French chefs, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Hubert Keller.

Personal life

Haeberlin was born in the village of

Illhaeusern Illhaeusern (; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The village stands at the confluence of the rivers Ill and Fecht. Its name means "houses near the river Ill". Illhaeusern is famous for the Auberge ...

in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

region of France. In 1882 his grandparents (Frédéric, a farmer, and Frédérique, a cook) had bought a small inn and cafe in the town, called L’Arbre Vert. His father (another Frédéric, but known as Fritz) was born in 1888, and his mother (Marthe Oberlin) was a pastry cook. His brother, Jean-Pierre Haeberlin, was a decorative artist who oversaw operations of the restaurant with Paul. At the age of 14, Paul became an apprentice at the ''Hôtel de la Pépinière'' in Ribeauvillé, next moving to Paris where he worked in restaurants such as ''Poccardi'' and ''Rôtisserie Périgourdine''. Haeberlin had to give up cooking during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when he was drafted into the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. Though he was able to discharge himself, he then went on to operate as a resistance fighter under

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

's Free French forces. His family's inn, ''L’Arbre Vert'' (the green tree) was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945 near the end of the war. The family rebuilt it after World War II, renaming the restaurant ''Auberge de l’Ill''. In 1953 he married Marie Ittel, and they had two children (Marc and Danièle), both of whom work in the family restaurant. In 1976 his son took over the kitchen of ''Auberge de l’Ill'', and in 2007 Paul Haeberlin fully retired.

Cuisine

Haeberlin was known for his innovative new versions of traditional Alsace dishes. With the aim of "revolutioniz ngprevious conceptions of French cuisine", it was Haeberlin's unique style which helped to define what would eventually become nouvelle cuisine.Encyclopædia Britannica entry for Paul Haeberlin
/ref> He received his first Michelin star in 1952, the second in 1957, and the maximum three in 1967. It has retained them ever since; an unbroken record bettered only by Paul Bocuse, who achieved his third star two years earlier.

Death

Haeberlin died in Illhaeusern on 10 May 2008. According to Michel Scheer (manager of ''Auberge de l’Ill''), he had been "suffering from kidney and heart disease, among other ailments".Grimes, Willia
Paul Haeberlin Star Chef and Restaurateur
''The Independent'', Tuesday 24 June 2008

References

External links

*
Official site of the Auberge de l'Ill
including the history of the Haeberlin family. {{DEFAULTSORT:Haeberlin, Paul 2008 deaths French chefs French Army personnel of World War II 1923 births People from Haut-Rhin French restaurateurs Free French military personnel of World War II fr:Marc et Paul Haeberlin he:אוברז' דה ל'איל