Born 1926,
France. Since the 17th century, the Bocuse family has resided in the same village of
Collonges au
Mont d'Or, working mainly as chefs. Paul Bocuse's apprenticeship was interrupted by
WWII, where he was wounded in
Alsace. He earned his first
Michelin star in 1961 by taking over his father's
cafe, his second a year later, and an impressive third Michelin star by 1965. He is also the only chef to be awarded the
Legion of Honor by the
president of France.
Bocuse stressed the importance of quality ingredients and thorough, classical culinary training, which seems like common sense now, but was revolutionary as it happened. His efforts and accomplishments are widely considered to be the influence of the
nouvelle cuisine movement in France, and his numerous books on cooking are highly respected by chefs around the world.
In 1987, Bocuse created the first worldwide cuisine competition, the
Bocuse d'Or, held every two years in
Lyon. Each country sends a
chef and a
sous chef to cook for over five straight hours for an international panel of judges. Rarely does a non-French team beat France for first place, but chefs from 21 other countries continue to try anyway.