Portrait
The alchemist of taste
MEETING PIERRE GAGNAIRE

As a culinary creator of talent, Pierre Gagnaire is a virtuoso whose cuisine never ceases to amaze the world’s finest gourmets.

Eating at the table of this iconoclastic chef, art enthusiast, painting and jazz lover, is a unique moment.

The chef doesn’t claim to be part of any French terroir in particular. Pierre Gagnaire is an insatiable curious.
Driven by his traveller's soul, his distinguished cuisine was born from a long reflexive work
inspired by his encounters around the world, a mix of cultures, painting and poetry.

Brought up in the tradition of the family restaurant (in le Clos Fleuri, Saint-Priest-en-Jarez),
Pierre Gagnaire started as a pastry chef before spending a summer with the famous Paul Bocuse.

After taking over the family restaurant in 1976, the year he won his first Michelin star,
he opened his first own restaurant in Saint-Etienne, owning the coveted three stars.

After going bankrupt, Pierre Gagnaire opened a new restaurant in November 1996 and owned back his three stars only two years later.

Like a phoenix rising back from its ashes, the chef develops his sensory universe.
Guided by his instincts, he appreciates the exploring of themes and atmospheres.
Crafting sensations is more important to him than regulating his dishes around a single product.

In Gagnaire’s kitchen, the rhythm is self-imposed.
In his opinion, music gives the tempo and the rhythm to a meal. Gagnaire is a culinary jazzman.
Like John Coltrane or Miles Davis, he seeks perfection in full improvisation.

The "Pierrot Lunaire", as the Gault & Millau’s guide nicknamed it, uses his ingredients to create emotions even though he was trained in a traditional way.

Like a painter, he uses a variety of ingredients that he "tames" and "twists" to compose his creations.

His cuisine is more artistic than gourmet, it is not thought to be eaten but rather to move people through feelings, poetry and intelligence.

Today, this three-star chef continues to take risks in the creation of each menu by proposing an inventive, spontaneous, intuitive and unpredictable cuisine
in the six restaurants he owns in Paris, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Las Vegas.

Créateur d'émotions depuis 1684