La Pyramide

Restaurant De La Pyramide popularly known as La Pyramide was a Michelin Guide 3-star restaurant located in Vienne, Isère, France.[1] It was widely believed to be the greatest restaurant in France while its owner Fernand Point (1897–1955) was alive.

For a building in Ivory Coast, see La Pyramide (building).
La Pyramide
Gardens at the restaurant and hotel
LocationVienne, France
Governing bodyPrivate

History

Point renamed the restaurant that his father bought. He quit Royal Hotel and started working there at 24. He changed the name to La Pyramide (after a nearby Roman pyramid that had marked the turn of a chariot race track).

The Restaurant

Much as he was strict and unforgiving in the kitchen, Point (often with Paul Bocuse as his apprentice and wing-man) was known to play pranks on his patrons and visitors. Parisian high society visitors would find themselves ushered into the kitchen, pushed into a corner, and fed one of Point's latest and greatest dishes under the pretense of being asked to evaluate the readiness of the offering while Bocuse, hidden underneath a prep table, whitewashed the heels of their shoes.

Postmen or visiting locals fared not much better, in one famous stunt Point ordered Bocuse to paint the bicycle of a visiting gendarme pink while Point distracted his visitor.

After Point's death, his widow, Mado, carried on and maintained the restaurant's 3-star rating for many years.

Present time

The restaurant changed hands and fell off the Michelin ratings, but after chef Patrick Henriroux took it over, it gained one Michelin star after a year and has two Michelin stars now.

References
  1. MacVeigh, Jeremy (2008). International Cuisine. Cengage Learning. p. 109. ISBN 978-1-4180-4965-2.

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