Fernand Point


Fernand Point was a French chef and restaurateur and is considered to be the father of modern French cuisine. He founded the restaurant La Pyramide in Vienne near Lyon.

Early life

He was born in Louhans, Saône-et-Loire, France. His family kept an inn where he started cooking when he was ten. He moved to Paris and worked at some of the capital's best restaurants before working with Paul Bocuse's father at the in Évian-les-Bains.

Career

He had received his training with Foyot in Paris, the Bristol Hotel, Paris, the Majestic in Cannes, and the Royal Hotel in Évian-les-Bains. In 1922, he and his family moved to Vienne, a city in southeast France near Lyon, and opened a restaurant. Two years later his father left the restaurant to Fernand, who renamed it La Pyramide.

La Pyramide

Point opened Restaurant de la Pyramide when he was 24, about south of Lyon in the town of Vienne. The restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars.

Ma Gastronomie

His book Ma Gastronomie was first published in French in 1969. The book includes 200 recipes based on Point's notes. The chef Charlie Trotter described Point's Ma Gastronomie as the most important cookbook.

Publications