Located 4 km to the north of Lyon, not far from the bridge of Collonges, there is a restaurant ablaze in a riot of colour, testimony to the creative genius that resides and cooks within its hallowed walls. It is the world famous L’Auberge du Collonges au Mont d’Or, where patron chef Paul Bocuse has spent a lifetime building a global reputation based on incomparable cooking. These are not superlatives to be easily shrugged off – acclaim has been heaped on Bocuse from all sides.
In 1989 Gault and Millau nominated Bocuse as Chef of the Century and in 1990 his restaurant was classified as the Premier Restaurant of the World by The Rich And Famous World’s Best. Chef Paul Bocuse is a two-time Legion of Honour recipient (the highest award of recognition in the Republic of France). The first award was for military service in WWII, the second for his culinary achievements. He was the first chef in French history to be decorated with this honour. He has also been awarded the insignia of Commander of the National Order of Merit in the United States of America.
Bocuse heads his own private cooking school, The Paul Bocuse School of Culinary Arts. He further has ownership of numerous restaurants in several countries, a successful product line, has authored several cookery books (which have been translated into 14 different languages) and owns his own vineyard in France. He has set up a scholarship fund at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York, which is dedicated to providing assistance to aspiring culinarians. California loves him so much that they proclaimed 10 March 1998 ‘Paul Bocuse Day’.
Chef Paul Bocuse is credited with being one of the five founding chefs of nouvelle cuisine, which hit the world by storm in the 1970’s and changed the face of dining forever, moving away from the rich, heavy style of Classical French Cuisine towards reduced sauces, tender-crisp vegetables and smaller sized portions. He is also the founder of the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest, the most prestigious culinary competition in the world.
A very impressive list of accolades and achievements indeed, and one that reflects merely the tip of the iceberg of awards that have been showered on this extremely talented chef. However, what impresses foodies the most, is that Paul Bocuse has maintained three Michelin stars (the highest possible award) since 1965. Michelin standards are notoriously strict, and star status is difficult to achieve and maintain. All restaurants are periodically reviewed and stars are mercilessly stripped off the undeserving.
Born in 1926, this veteran of haute cuisine remains faithful to the basics of good cooking. Asked his secret to great food, he responded: “Cooking is easy, you just need good ingredients, good seasoning, and the right cook – that’s it! Fresh herbs from the garden is another secret. The gardeners pick them early each morning.” Like all great men, he makes his exquisite skill sound like child’s play.He does however, lament the change in work ethic: “In 1948, 50 years ago, with Eugenie Brazier, (a woman Bocuse worked for early in his career) it was work, work and work. Her restaurant was in the countryside, I’d have to get up very early in the morning, I had to look after the pigs, do the washing and after that we’d do the cooking. And Fernand Point (another early mentor) was the same – always working. Nowadays, we’re working 45 hours in France, so it’s not the same way as it was 50 years ago.” The modern chef’s work is however, made easier by the accessibility of top of the range ingredients from around the world.
About the innovation of nouvelle cuisine he laughingly says: “I decided at the time, that it was going to be nothing on the plate and everything in the bill.  The bigger the plate, the smaller the amount you had to eat. That was nouvelle cuisine. It was popular because we talked about it everywhere we went in the world.” Don’t fear however, that you will leave L’Auberge du Collonges au Mont d’Or hungry, as the menu is composed of up to eight courses, each exquisitely prepared and expertly served.
Unpretentious and jovial, Bocuse doesn’t view his work as art or even a craft: “I see it as a job where there is no unemployment. It’s a job where you have to work hard. But it is also a job where you can have fun. Lots of men cook at home as a hobby more than a job, really, if you think about it. But more often it’s a woman who does the dishes!”
One doesn’t have to ask how he developed his passion for food. He comes from a long line of cooks. His family has been keeping themselves and others well fed since 1750. In those early days, they made flour and brought it by boat down the river. His great-grandmother and grandmother were fine cooks too. “It was wonderful,” he remembers. “It was simple cooking  – chicken roasted over a fire, an omelette. Simple to make. But quality.” His son continues the family tradition, albeit not in France. Says Bocuse: “Jerome lives in the States and he is the manager of the restaurant The Chefs of France in Walt Disney World at Epcot. He left the kitchen, but he knows it. He is more American than French. He has an American passport so really, his future will be there.”
Bocuse leads a relatively simple life, living and cooking in the house that has belonged to his family for generations. He still sleeps in the very room he occupied as a little boy, and says: “Personally, I don’t ask for too much. I want to go to bed with the River Soan on my left, and when I’m travelling, I still feel it’s there carrying me to sleep. I have a very common appetite. I love chicken in the summer and rabbit in the autumn. Truly I’d be satisfied with two eggs, sardines and good bread. It doesn’t take much to keep me happy.”
On an uncharacteristically poetic note, he says: “I believe that in cooking like in music, one doesn’t invent much. One makes interpretations but the word ‘invention’ for me is a bit pretentious. There are too many cooks trying to do new things and you know when one reads cookery books one always finds something which has already been done... To mix chocolate with tomatoes or tomatoes with jam – that’s not an invention…a sole with chocolate – the sole is a good product, chocolate is a good product, the two mixed together – give you shit. But people should be able to enjoy different experiences – there is good rock ‘n roll, there is good jazz, good opera – but not all on the one night.”
Maybe it is quite natural for Bocuse to draw a parallel between cooking and music. The great man has a passionate interest in restoring old organs, and a massive one graces the reception venue where he hosts weddings and other groups.
With his signature pose – arms crossed and wearing a towering chef’s hat – it is obvious why he’s called ‘The Pope of Cooking’. Asked what use a chef of his stature should have with a website, the Bocuse humour bubbles to the fore. He responds: “God is very well known, but he still asks his children to ring the bell every Sunday. That’s why I now have a website.”
A well-rounded man, who often laughs generously at his own expense, Bocuse admits to never missing the annual Harley Davidson Bike week in Florida, USA, and professes affection for Mickey Mouse. Ever the consummate businessman and tactful ambassador, he even has something good to say about McDonald’s: “They came up with a tremendous concept that we, in France, weren’t cunning enough to think of first. But what they put in their bread, that’s another story.”