Jean-François Piège
French chef
Biography
Jean-François Piège (born 1970) is a French chef who holds two Michelin stars. He is known for bridging the classic grand cuisine of Paris palaces and the more relaxed food of brasseries and bistros, and he has become a familiar face of contemporary French restaurant cooking.
In 1991, during his military service, he spent ten months as a chef assistant at the Palais de l'Élysée, working with Bernard Vaussion, who was then sous-chef. He later worked under several well-known chefs, including Bruno Cirino, Yves Camdeborde, Christian Constant and Alain Ducasse. He then became chef of Les Ambassadeurs at the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris, where he mixed the formal codes of the palace with popular dishes. In 2009 he launched the Thoumieux project with Thierry Costes, comprising a brasserie, a restaurant and a hotel, and in February 2011 his restaurant there was awarded two Michelin stars.
In 2014 he and his wife, Élodie, opened Clover in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and a year later they opened Le Grand Restaurant, which earned two Michelin stars in 2016. From 2010 to 2019 he was a judge on the French version of Top Chef, and he has written many cookbooks. His legacy lies in Parisian restaurant cooking of the past two decades and in his presence on food television.
Key contributions
- Direction of Les Ambassadeurs, where he combined palace cuisine with popular dishes.
- The Thoumieux project, with a brasserie, restaurant and hotel in Paris.
- Clover and Clover Green, restaurants with a focus on vegetables.
- Le Grand Restaurant, holding two Michelin stars since 2016.
- Cookbooks and popular writing, including titles on desserts and fish cooking.
- Judge on the French version of Top Chef from 2010 to 2019.