Pierre Troisgros facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pierre Troisgros
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| Born | 3 September 1928 Chalon-sur-Saône, France
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| Died | 23 September 2020 (aged 92) Le Coteau, France
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| Occupation | Restaurant chef and owner |
| Relatives | Troisgros family |
Pierre Troisgros (born September 3, 1928 – died September 23, 2020) was a famous French chef and restaurant owner. He was best known for his restaurant called Frères Troisgros. Pierre and his brother took over their father's restaurant, Hôtel Moderne. There, they created a special dish: "Escalope de saumon à l’oseille Troisgros," which means salmon with sorrel sauce. This dish became their most famous creation. Pierre Troisgros held a record for never losing his three Michelin stars once he earned them. A writer named Stephen Harris even called him "the father of nouvelle cuisine."
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Becoming a Famous Chef
Pierre's older brother, Jean Troisgros, was two years his senior. Both brothers learned their first cooking lessons from their mother. Later, Pierre and Jean trained with well-known top chefs in Paris. They improved their cooking skills together at a restaurant called Lucas Carton in Paris.
In 1953, the brothers returned home to take over their family's restaurant. Pierre was in charge of cooking the main dishes, while Jean focused on making delicious sauces. Their father managed the dining room and the wine.
A Restaurant's Rise to Fame
Working together, Pierre and Jean continued to run their father's restaurant, Hôtel Moderne. In 1955, this country restaurant, located in Roanne, France, earned its first Michelin star. A Michelin star is a very special award for restaurants.
In 1957, the restaurant changed its name to Les Frères Troisgros, which means "The Troisgros Brothers." Within just ten years, it became the most popular restaurant in its area. Soon, it was one of the best-known restaurants in all of France. The restaurant earned its second Michelin star in 1965 and its third in 1968.
Creating Nouvelle Cuisine
Pierre Troisgros was one of the inventors of nouvelle cuisine. This new style of cooking became popular in the 1960s. Other famous chefs like Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel, Jean Troisgros, and Michel Guérard also helped create it.
They changed how restaurants worked. Instead of the old, heavy rules of French haute cuisine, they wanted food to taste and look more like its natural ingredients. They aimed for lighter, fresher, and brighter dishes.
The Famous Salmon Dish
The restaurant's most famous dish was salmon with sorrel sauce. In the Troisgros kitchen, this sauce was not made thick with starch. Instead, it used well-reduced ingredients and a little bit of cream. Pierre Troisgros was one of the first chefs to use a non-stick pan for cooking. He even said that the invention of the Teflon-coated pan made his famous salmon dish possible.
Pierre and Jean called their salmon dish "Escalope de saumon à l’oseille Troisgros." To make it, they cooked the salmon for only 15 seconds on each side in a non-stick pan. At first, some people didn't like the dish. But when a food critic named Robert Courtine called it an "intelligent salmon," it quickly became their signature dish.
In 1972, the brothers were named "Best Restaurant in the World" by the food critics of Gault Millau.
New Ideas in Dining
In the 1970s, a writer named Gael Greene visited the restaurant. She wrote that Pierre Troisgros would sometimes play cards in the dining room while guests were still there. Early in his career, Pierre visited China. There, he learned about what would later be called the tasting menu. He brought this idea back to his restaurant in the 1970s. A tasting menu lets guests try many small dishes.
Pierre's son, Michel Troisgros, joined the family business in 1983. A book about Pierre and his brother's nouvelle cuisine was published in 2012. In 2017, the family restaurant moved to Ouches, even though Pierre had lived in Roanne for most of his life. Pierre Troisgros set a record by never losing his three Michelin stars once he earned them. After he passed away, Stephen Harris of the Telegraph newspaper called him "the father of nouvelle cuisine." He also said that even today's chefs still follow his ideas.
Family Life
Pierre Troisgros was the father of Claude Troisgros. Claude is also a famous restaurant owner and TV host in Brazil. Pierre's son Michel married Marie-Pierre Troisgros. Their sons, César and Léo, are also chefs who work at the family restaurant.
Pierre Troisgros passed away at his home in Le Coteau, near Roanne, on September 23, 2020. He was 92 years old.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Troisgros para niños
