Marc Meneau (16 March 1943 – 9 December 2020) was a French chef, who earned three stars from the

Guide Michelin The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

. He was the chef of the restaurant ''L'Espérance'' located in

Saint-Père, Yonne Saint-Père () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department *Parc naturel régional du Morvan Morvan Regional Natural Park (, ) is a protected area of wo ...

Early life

Meneau was born in

Avallon Avallon () is a commune in the Burgundian department of Yonne, in France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish ''*Aballū'', oblique ''*Aballon-'' meaning "Apple-tree (place)" or "(plac ...

on 16 March 1943. A native of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, Meneau never really departed his native region. Going to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in 1961 to join a hotel school, he then returned to take over the grocery store of his mother, Marguerite, located in Saint-Père in the town of

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

. With the help of his wife Françoise (daughter of a Burgundian restaurant owner) and as a self-taught cooking chef, he transformed it into a restaurant and started inventing recipes which he published soon after. He was eager to learn and started looking at books of old cuisine chefs, which helped him develop into a famous chef specialized in old cuisine.

Career

He received his first

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

in 1972 and decided to move his restaurant to a larger premises that he named ''L'Espérance''. In 1975 he received his second Michelin star. In 1983, he was elected the best French chef of the year (Meilleur Cuisinier Français de l'Année) and received a third Michelin star and the grade of 19/20 at the Gault et Millau. He planted 16 hectares of vine to give another life to the famous wine Bourgogne-Vézelay ( AOC). However, he lost his third Michelin star in 1999. In 2003, he created the EntreVignes, a

bistro A bistro or bistrot (), in its original Parisian form, is a small restaurant serving moderately priced, simple meals in a modest setting. In more recent years, the term has become used by restaurants considered, by some, to be pretentious. Style ...

opposite of his restaurant, an idea given by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

, who was familiar with the area. The in 2004, Marc Meneau finally got his third Michelin star back. By 2007, Meneau had several financial problems and the bankruptcy of his business. This led to the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

deleting his entry from its 2007 edition, assuming that the business of Marc Meneau was about to close. However, ''L'Espérance'' continued to trade and appeared again in the

with its two stars. In 2010, Marc Meneau planted his own

kitchen garden The traditional kitchen garden, vegetable garden, also known as a potager (from the French ) or in Scotland a kailyaird, is a space separate from the rest of the residential garden – the ornamental plants and lawn areas. It is used for grow ...

, which is certified, in the park of his restaurant ''L'Espérance''.

Death

He died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in France The COVID-19 pandemic in France has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus was confirmed to have reached France on 24 January 2020, when the first COVID-19 case in both Europe and France was identified in Bordeaux. T ...

on 9 December 2020.

Honours

*1983 : Meilleur Cuisinier de l'Année by the guide

Gault-Millau Gault et Millau () is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates restaurants on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants giv ...

(elected) *1985 : Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (named) *1987 : Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of Merit (named) *1988 : Meilleur Chef de l'Année by the magazine ''Le Chef'' (elected) *1993 : Officer (Officier) of the National Order of Merit (named) *1998 : 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 ...

(named) *2012 : elected Talent d'Or at the Talents du Luxe et de la Création

Followers

Chefs were trained by Marc Meneau *

Ludo Lefebvre Ludovic Lefebvre (; born 1971) is a French chef and restaurateur. He has owned and operated several restaurants in Los Angeles. Early life and training Lefebvre was born in Auxerre, Burgundy and grew up in Charbuy. His interest in food began dur ...

Kilien Stengel Kilien Stengel (born 1972 in Nevers) is a French gastronomic author, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. He has worked at Gidleigh Park, Nikko Hotels, Georges V Hotel in Paris, and in a number of Relais & Châteaux restaurants (including Marc M ...

Filmography

*2000 : '' Vatel'' by

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (; born 17 November 1945) is an English film and television film director, director, Film producer, producer and screenwriter. He is known for directing the critically-acclaimed films ''The Killing Fields (film), The Killing Field ...

with

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

François Vatel François Vatel (; 1631 – 24 April 1671) was the majordomo (in French, ) of Nicolas Fouquet and prince Louis, Grand Condé. Biography Vatel was born either in Switzerland or in Paris in 1625, 1631, or 1635. He is widely, but incorrectly, cr ...

: elaboration of the gargantuan buffets of the film *2006 : ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

'' by

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

: ballet of the buffets

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meneau, Marc 1943 births French chefs People from Avallon Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2020 deaths Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France