Chef Name: Jean-François Piège
Age: 49
Title: Chef
Awards:
Two Michelin Stars for Le Grand Restaurant / Jean-François Piège, 2016.
Lebey Award for best meat, for sweetbread stewed on nutshells, 2016.
Chef of the Year, Pudlo Guide, 2016.
Chef of the Year, Champérard Guide, 2016.
Coup de Coeur award for Clover Grill, Lebey Guide Paris London, 2017
Best Restaurant of the Year for Clover Grill, Condé Nast Traveller Magazine Hot List, 2017
Best Restaurant of the Year for Le Grand Restaurant, World Luxury Restaurant Awards, 2018
19/20 points and 5 hats by Gault & Millau for Le Grand Restaurant, 2018
One Michelin Star for La Poule au Pot, Paris, 2019
How old were you when you started cooking professionally?
I started to cook professionally at the age of 18 when I finished hotel school in 1988.
What’s your earliest and fondest first memory of food?
The floating island (île flottante) made by my grandmother is my first memory of food. It was a pure sweetness.
Which chefs inspire you most and why?
The two people who inspire me the most are my grandmother and my mother.
What are your two favourite cookbooks and why?
I have almost 10,000 books at home – I am really passionate. My first favourite book is Le Livre de Michel Bras, which is a gastronomic reference for me. The second is L’Heptaméron des Gourmets by Édouard Nignon, which was published in 1919.
Which two ingredients could you not live without?
The two ingredients that I could not live without are cherries and peas.
What is your favourite comfort food to cook at home?
Very simple and efficient – I really enjoy cooking veal blanquette.
If you could eat at any Michelin star restaurant in the world today, where would it be?
If I could eat at any Michelin star restaurant, I would choose Alinea by Chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas in Chicago.
And who would you take as your guest?
I would go with my wife Elodie.
What do you look for in a good chef?
I would look for the desire to satisfy clients who want to try the cuisine.
What advice would you give to chefs starting their career paths now?
I would like to advise them to work hard, taste each of their creations and to travel as much as they can to discover the world, other countries and new cultures.
Jean-François Piège is Head of five restaurants: Le Grand Restaurant, Clover Green, Clover Grill, La Poule au Pot and A l’Epi d’Or, all in Paris. He also works in a consultancy capacity for Clover Gordes, with the group Les Airelles.
Website: www.jeanfrancoispiege.com
Address: 7, Rue d’Aguesseau, 75008, Paris, France.
Telephone: +331 53 05 0000
Instagram: @jeanfrancoispiege & @legrandrestaurantparis
Twitter: @JF_Piege
Photo Credits: James Bort and Franck Juery
