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Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44 Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44
(about 1 hour later)
Benoît Violier, the French-Swiss chef who scaled the heights of gastronomy to preside over a small Swiss restaurant that was named the best in the world in December, has died by what appears to have been suicide. He was 44. In the rarefied galaxy of restaurants that have received the Michelin guide’s highest honor, three stars, Benoît Violier’s, in Switzerland, was by one measure the most glittering.
The Swiss police said in a statement that Mr. Violier’s body was found late Sunday at his home in Crissier, Switzerland, near Lausanne. “It would seem that he has ended his life with a firearm,” the statement said. Only two months ago his establishment, the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, near Lausanne, was designated the best restaurant in the world in La Liste, rankings commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry — an honor that only added luster to the glory of French chefs (he was born in France) in the face of competition from plucky foreign rivals.
Mr. Violier, a perfectionist known for his acumen in cooking game, ran the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville with his wife, Brigitte. It has been awarded three Michelin stars and in December took the number one spot in La Liste, France’s ranking of 1,000 restaurants in 48 countries. But on Monday, his friends and associates in the restaurant industry were groping to understand why Mr. Violier, at 44, had apparently shot himself to death over the weekend at his home in Crissier. And they asked whether he was the latest victim of a high-pressure world that demands perfection, shuns signs of weakness and promotes a culture where culinary demigods can be demoted with the stroke of a pen.
The restaurant’s menu has included dishes like “pigs trotters from the Jura with black truffles and glazed with Madeira wine,” roast Bresse chicken served with “Blue Winter” leeks and truffles, and a “fantasy of shellfish from the Saint-Brieuc Bay served raw in the shell on a delicate velouté.” Mr. Violier, a perfectionist known for his acumen in cooking game, ran the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville with his wife, Brigitte. It has been awarded three Michelin stars and in December took the No. 1 spot in La Liste, France’s ranking of 1,000 restaurants in 48 countries.
The precise circumstances of Mr. Violier’s death remained unclear, but other top chefs have been pushed to suicide, buffeted by a high-pressure world that demands perfection and where culinary demigods can be demoted with the stroke of a pen. The death was also provoking debate in the industry as to whether sufficient support structures were available for chefs grappling with the pressures of a physically and mentally demanding job that can be in thrall to capricious rankings and unforgiving food critics.
In 2003, Bernard Loiseau, the chef and owner of the Côte d’Or, a Michelin three-star restaurant in Burgundy, was found dead in his home at 52. Last April, the chef Homaro Cantu, whose Chicago restaurant, Moto, had received a Michelin star, hanged himself. He was 38. In the United States, the close-knit restaurant world was shaken in April when Homaro Cantu, 38, the innovative chef behind Moto, a Michelin-starred avant-garde restaurant in Chicago’s meatpacking district, hanged himself. He also owned a cafe, Barrista.
According to the French news media, Mr. Loiseau had been distraught over a slight demotion in the Gault & Millau guide, one of the world’s most influential arbiters of culinary excellence, and was worried that he could lose a star in the next edition of the Michelin guide. Fellow chefs asked whether he had taken on too much and succumbed, as a celebrity chief, to the seemingly impossible demands for culinary prowess, media swagger and empire-building.
Gabriel Waterhouse, a young and innovative British chef, who until recently was at Galvin La Chapelle, which has one Michelin star, said star chefs like Mr. Violier operated in an extremely competitive atmosphere, in which speaking about fears was taboo. In 2003, Bernard Loiseau, the chef and owner of the Côte d’Or, a Michelin three-star restaurant in the Burgundy region of France, was found dead in his home at the age of 52. The French news media said he had been distraught over a slight demotion in the Gault & Millau guide, one of the world’s most influential arbiters of culinary excellence, and was worried that he could lose a star in the next edition of the Michelin guide, widely considered the most powerful of them.
“People are quite macho in the industry, and people don’t feel they can really talk about their problems or the stresses of what is being asked of them,” he said. “It can’t keep happening; it just can’t,” the food writer Kat Kinsman said on Monday. In January she started Chefs With Issues, a project aimed at illuminating the job-related stresses and mental illnesses afflicting many people in the food industry. Depression, anxiety, addiction and eating disorders are common.
“It is considered a sign of weakness if you complain,” he added, “and that is intensified the higher and higher you go.” Mental illness cuts across every profession, and medical experts warned that many individuals who commit suicide suffer from a severe mood disorder that can be triggered and exacerbated by many factors related to career, family, finances and health. But Ms. Kinsman and others in the industry said that restaurant work posed unique pressures that could contribute to self-destructive behavior, including suicide.
Mr. Violier was born in La Rochelle, a coastal city in western France, to a family of winemakers. In 2013, the Gault & Millau guide named him chef of the year. Gabriel Waterhouse, who until recently was a chef in London at Galvin La Chapelle, which has one Michelin star, said star chefs like Mr. Violier operated in an extremely competitive atmosphere, in which speaking about fears was taboo.
Towering figures of French cuisine, like the chefs Paul Bocuse and Marc Veyrat, paid homage to Mr. Violier on Monday in Twitter messages, some expressing shock and remarking on his culinary artistry, which had garnered him many followers. “People are quite macho in the industry,” he said, “and people don’t feel they can really talk about their problems or the stresses of what is being asked of them.” He added, “It is considered a sign of weakness if you complain, and that is intensified the higher and higher you go.”
Mr. Violier was born on Aug. 22, 1971, in La Rochelle, a coastal city in western France, to a family of winemakers. In 2013, he was named chef of the year by the Gault & Millau guide.
“It would seem that he has ended his life with a firearm,” a statement by the police said, adding that an investigation had been opened.
Towering figures of French cuisine, like the chefs Paul Bocuse and Marc Veyrat, paid homage to Mr. Violier, some expressing shock and remarking on his self-effacing demeanor and culinary artistry, which had garnered him many followers.
The Michelin guide released its list of starred restaurants in France for 2016 on Monday, and although Mr. Violier’s establishment is in Switzerland, he had been planning to attend a ceremony in Paris for the new rankings, according to the Swiss news media. Instead, the proceedings began with a minute of silence for him.The Michelin guide released its list of starred restaurants in France for 2016 on Monday, and although Mr. Violier’s establishment is in Switzerland, he had been planning to attend a ceremony in Paris for the new rankings, according to the Swiss news media. Instead, the proceedings began with a minute of silence for him.
Patricia Zizza, who has worked by Mr. Bocuse’s side for 40 years and has known some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Mr. Violier, said the expectation of creating a masterwork every day could push some chefs to depression and exhaustion.Patricia Zizza, who has worked by Mr. Bocuse’s side for 40 years and has known some of the world’s greatest chefs, including Mr. Violier, said the expectation of creating a masterwork every day could push some chefs to depression and exhaustion.
“Chefs are in the theater and must produce great work, and there is strong pressure to maintain that excellence,” Ms. Zizza said. “It requires an enormous amount of attention, from assuring the quality of the products to directing teams of people. And it entails many sacrifices, including to one’s personal life.”“Chefs are in the theater and must produce great work, and there is strong pressure to maintain that excellence,” Ms. Zizza said. “It requires an enormous amount of attention, from assuring the quality of the products to directing teams of people. And it entails many sacrifices, including to one’s personal life.”
Ms. Zizza said Mr. Violier had been shaken by the death last year of his mentor, the Swiss chef Philippe Rochat, who died after falling ill while cycling. Mr. Violier and his wife began running the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in 2012, after Mr. Rochat retired. Information about his other survivors was not immediately available. She said Mr. Violier had been shaken by the death last year of his mentor, the Swiss chef Philippe Rochat, who died after falling ill while cycling. Mr. Violier and his wife began running the Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville in 2012, after Mr. Rochat retired.
The French Foreign Ministry commissioned La Liste, apparently as a response to the London-based World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The British rankings were criticized by some in France for failing to give French restaurants their due, but other members of the culinary establishment have said that they regard the alternative effort as misguided. Mr. Violier’s survivors include his wife and their son, Romain, according to Swiss news outlets.
When Mr. Violier was awarded the top place in La Liste’s ranking in December, he responded with characteristic modesty. La Liste was commissioned by the French Foreign Ministry, apparently as a response to the London-based World’s 50 Best Restaurants. The British rankings were criticized by some in France as failing to give French restaurants their rightful due, but others in the culinary establishment regarded the French effort as misguided.
“I feel a heavy responsibility to be named number one,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. He added that the key to his success was consistency, not flashiness, and he singled out his loyal team, including Louis Villeneuve, his maître d’hôtel, who has been in his post for four decades. When Mr. Violier was awarded the top place in La Liste’s ranking in December, he responded with characteristic modesty
“I feel a heavy responsibility to be named number one,” he said in an interview with The New York Times, published in December. He added that the key to his success was consistency, not flashiness, and he singled out his loyal team, including Louis Villeneuve, his maître d’hôtel, who has been in his post for four decades
“This ranking is a recognition of seriousness, of delivering the same fidelity and level of excellence from the beginning of January to the end of December,” Mr. Violier said. “It’s a great tribute to the team.”“This ranking is a recognition of seriousness, of delivering the same fidelity and level of excellence from the beginning of January to the end of December,” Mr. Violier said. “It’s a great tribute to the team.”