Jean-Baptiste and Marie Troisgros Jean-Baptiste Troisgros (1898–1974) and his wife Marie Badaut (1900–1968),
lemonade makers of Burgundian origin, ran the in
Chalon-sur-Saône in
Burgundy. They had three children: Jean (born 2 December 1926 in Chalon-sur-Saône),
Pierre (born 3 September 1928 in Chalon-sur-Saône) and Madeleine (born 17 June 1935 in Roanne). In 1930, the Troisgros family settled in Roanne, on the borders of Burgundy, the
Rhône Valley and
Auvergne, on National Highway #7 (
Route nationale 7), then a major highway. They bought the located in front of the
train station, but did not own the property, which the family rented for 86 years. The couple were entirely
self-taught, and their restaurant offered a regional,
bourgeois and friendly atmosphere. Marie Troisgros was in the kitchen while Jean-Baptiste took care of the room and
cellar. Their
cuisine was simple, "sincere and true", and hiding the flavor and quality of products with
sauces or concealing them under bulky decorations was out of the question. The great
wines of Burgundy, dear to Jean-Baptiste, were honored. Quickly gaining notoriety, they renamed their business and restaurant in 1935. Their two sons, Jean and Pierre, were brought up in the almost sacred eulogies of the great
French cuisine. At 15, both entered the kitchen almost "as one enters religion". Jean was trained in
Paris, Pierre at the in
Étretat in
Normandy; he also worked in
Saint-Jean-de-Luz in the
Basque Country. In 1948, Pierre Troisgros did his military service with the 62nd African Artillery Regiment in
Tunis. After receiving their professional certification (CAP []), the brothers worked together at , a prestigious restaurant of the
place de la Madeleine in the
8th arrondissement of Paris with the great chef Gaston Richard. They formed a lasting friendship there with fellow chef
Paul Bocuse. All three then teamed up in the prestigious restaurant
La Pyramide in
Vienne near
Lyon, among the great chefs,
Fernand Point, the boss with a strong personality, and Paul Mercier. Pierre and Jean had a short stay at
Maxim's for the former and the
Hôtel de Crillon for the latter, before returning to Roanne; their father, Jean-Baptiste, wanted his two sons to help him and eventually replace him.
The Troisgros Brothers (Pierre and Jean) In 1957, the became , with Pierre working as
chef, Jean as master
saucier and their father Jean-Baptiste as butler and
sommelier with his knack for human contact. At the end of service, he brought his sons to the room and introduced them to customers. This was the beginning of an ascent to the heights of international
gastronomy. The
Michelin Guide awarded them a first star in 1955, a second in 1965 and a much sought-after and very prestigious third star in 1968. They received a rating of 18/20 from
Gault Millau and four stars in the . In 1965, Jean Troisgros obtained the title of
Meilleur Ouvrier de France (kitchen category). In 1966, Pierre Troisgros served as chef for five months a Maxim's restaurant in
Tokyo, Japan. In 1968,
Christian Millau was on the cover of his magazine stating: "I discovered the best restaurant in the world". In 1970, the restaurant expanded with the purchase of a neighboring building. In 1976, they built a large kitchen. In the 1980s, in collaboration with the department store in Japan, Pierre created a brand and product line named after his family: Troisgros, initially available in five store locations. On 9 August 1983 in
Vittel (
Vosges), Jean Troisgros died suddenly of a heart attack on a tennis court. On 29 October 1987, the Roanne train station plaza was renamed in his name (inaugurated by
François Mitterrand, former French president). In its center stood a work by sculptor
Arman dating from 1992: , which represented a stack of forks. Pierre was now left alone to manage the family business with Olympe, his wife, and asked Michel and Marie-Pierre to return from the United States to support them for a few months.
Jean Troisgros Jean Troisgros was married and father of two children. His son Georges was notably a cook at the restaurants
Lutèce and in
New York City.
Pierre Troisgros Pierre Troisgros (died on 23 September 2020 in
Le Coteau, near Roanne, at the age of 92) and his spouse Olympe Forté (1928–2008), of Italian origin, met in Paris and had three children,
Claude (born 1956), Michel (born 1958) and Anne-Marie (born 1964). Claude runs the gourmet restaurant in
Rio de Janeiro and three bistros, including one in
Miami Beach, Florida. He is the father of two children, including his son Thomas Troisgros, who has taken over. Anne-Marie (former student of the
École hôtelière de Lausanne), with her husband Yves Gravelier, was the owner of in
Bordeaux from 1993 to 2014.
Michel Troisgros Michel, born 2 April 1958 in Roanne, is the son of Pierre and Olympe Troisgros, and he studied in the
Grenoble between 1973 and 1976, where he met Marie-Pierre, his future wife. They left to travel around the world in order to learn the craft in big houses like
Alain Chapel in
Mionnay,
Frédy Girardet in
Crissier,
Taillevent in Paris,
Michel Guérard in
Eugénie-les-Bains and New York City,
Comme chez Soi in
Brussels,
Chez Panisse in
Berkeley and
The Connaught (hotel) in London.
Marie-Pierre Troisgros Marie-Pierre Lambert, born 6 April 1957 in
Sainte-Colombe (
Rhône), also studied in the from 1973 to 1976. During her world tour, she worked in various countries, notably in Germany in the
Black Forest, at the
Hilton Hotel in Brussels, at The Connaught in London, at the
Lapérouse restaurant in Paris, at
Petrossian in New York City, at Michel Guérard in Eugénie-les-Bains and at the François family in Switzerland. Michel and Marie-Pierre married in 1983. Together Marie-Pierre and Michel have three children, Marion (born 1983), César (born 1986) and Léo (born 1993).
César Troisgros César Troisgros, born 5 November 1986 in Roanne, is the eldest son of Michel and Marie-Pierre. He trained at the
Institut Paul Bocuse in
Écully from 2004 to 2007 before continuing his culinary apprenticeship in major houses such as Michel Rostang in Paris, the
Roca brothers in
Girona, Spain,
Thomas Keller in California in the
Napa Valley and a few months with his uncle Claude Troisgros in
Rio de Janeiro. In 2011, he decided to go to work in
Japan, but the
Fukushima disaster made him postpone his departure. He remained in Roanne to work alongside his father and became involved in family projects, notably in the move to Ouches. Concerned about
ecology and
biodiversity, the young man cited among his sources of influence the documentary film
Tomorrow () and the peasant-philosopher
Pierre Rabhi. In 2017, he joined in the preservation of a
bean variety, the Auvergne bean. After the family moved their primary business location to Ouches, César took increasingly important roles in the family restaurant, Le Bois sans feuilles, becoming Chef de Cuisine, at first under this father Michel, until he became solely responsible for the restaurant in 2023.
Léo Troisgros Léo Troisgros, born 26 February 1993 in Roanne, studied at the Institut Paul Bocuse between 2012 and 2015. To complete his training, he joined major companies such as
Guy Savoy in Paris,
Benoît Violier in Crissier, by Alexandre Gauthier in
La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil and the
Hotel Adlon in
Berlin. In 2017, he joined the cooking team for the opening of the new establishment in Ouches, before joining , where Lisa Roche, his companion, is head of the ranks. In January 2018, he left with his partner for a year in Japan. On 18 June 2020, Léo and Lisa took over the direction of , and made it an independent establishment in 2024. == Restaurants ==