Jean-Pierre Coffe (; 24 March 1938 – 29 March 2016) was a French

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and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

food critic A food critic, food writer, or restaurant critic is a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings to the public. Terminology "Food writer" is often used as a broad term that encompasses someone who w ...

, and author.

Early life and education

Jean-Pierre Coffe spent a major part of his childhood in the town where he was born,

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German : ''Lünstadt'' ; Lorrain: ''Leneinvile'') is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Ve ...

. He never knew his father, mobilized in 1937 and killed on the field of battle in 1940. He was raised by his mother, who took over the family hairdressing salon. His grandmother was a cook and his grandfather a

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

er. His mother left

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for

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where he studied at boarding school. At the age of 13, he was seized by a passion for theatre. After completing his studies, he took classes at the Cours Simon and had a number of small jobs at the same time.

Television career

Jean-Pierre Coffe then began a career in television in the early 1970s. He joined

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on November 4, 1984, and appeared on a number of occasions in the programs hosted by Michel Deist. In 1992 and 1993, he made his first appearances in ''La Grande Famille'' hosted by Jean-Luc Delarue and ''Demain'' hosted by Michel Denisot for the cooking theme. He then joined the French public channel where he hosted a cooking program with children titled ''Comment c'est fait ?'' ("How is it done?") from 1992 to 1993 on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

, followed in 1994 by ''C'est tout Coffe'' ("This is all Coffe") on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

. He joined private channel

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

in 1999 to present ''Bien jardiner'' ("Gardening well"), produced by Jean-Luc Delarue, who finally decided to end the broadcast soon after, which marked the end of their friendship. In 2003, he joined

Michel Drucker Michel Drucker, CQ (born 12 September 1942) is a popular French journalist and TV host. He has been on screen for so long on various shows and different networks, both public and private, that he once said that some people joked that he was in ...

on France 2 where he served as a food critic in the program ''Vivement dimanche prochain''. On 5 September 2012 he announced his departure of the program to spend more time on writing.

Radio career

In September 1990 he joined the team of '' Les Grosses Têtes,'' a radio program hosted by

Philippe Bouvard Philippe Bouvard (; born 6 December 1929 in Coulommiers, Seine-et-Marne, Coulommiers) is a French television and radio presenter. From 1977 to 2014 he hosted the French radio program ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on Radio Luxemburg RTL (French radio), ...

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, for which he became a regular participant. He left in September 2010 and soon after joined the program ''On va s'gêner,'' hosted by

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone B ...

Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...

, which he left after one season in 2011. In 2014, he returned to ''Les Grosses Têtes'' on RTL when Laurent Ruquier took over as presenter. From 1998 to June 2008, he presented the program ''Ça se bouffe pas, ça se mange'' on

France Inter France Inter () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is the successor to Paris Inter, later known as France I, and created as a merger of the France I and France II networks, first as RTF Inter in October 1963, then ren ...

every Saturday. At the end of the show on June 21, 2008, he announced his forced retirement by France Inter management.

Books

Coffe published many books, ranging from recipes and gardening, to critiques of mass-produced food production and the manufacture of commercial food products. Some of his best-sellers were: * Le Bon Vivre (Living Well) and Le Vrai Vivre (Authentic Living) in 1992, * Comme à la Maison (Homely cooking) in 1993, * Le Potager Plaisir (The Joy of Home-grown Food) and Le Marché (The Food Market) in 1998, * Fleurs Bonheur (The Joy of Flowers) in 1999, * Le Verger Gourmand (The Greedy Gardener) in 2000, * La Véritable Histoire des Jardins de Versailles (The True History of the Gardens of Versailles), with Alain Baraton in 2007, * Les Recettes Inratables de Jean-Pierre Coffe (Jean-Pierre Coffe's Failure-proof Recipes) in 2007, * Mes Confitures (My Jams) in 2008, and * Le Plaisir à Petit Prix (Good Food on a Budget) in 2009.

Death

On 29 March 2016, Coffe died at his home in Lanneray.« Jean-Pierre Coffe est mort à l'âge de 78 ans »
on ''rtl.fr'', March 29, 2016

Filmography

Honors

* Chevalier (Knight) of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

* Commander of the

Order of Agricultural Merit The Order of Agricultural Merit () is an order of merit bestowed by the France, French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the Legion of Honour within the Frenc ...

References

External links

Official site of Jean-Pierre Coffe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffe, Jean-Pierre 1938 births 2016 deaths French radio presenters French television presenters French food writers People from Lunéville Bisexual male writers French male non-fiction writers French LGBTQ broadcasters Knights of the Legion of Honour French bisexual men French bisexual writers