http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/wo...chef-dies.html

Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44

By DAN BILEFSKYFEB. 1, 2016

LONDON €” The French-Swiss chef Benoît Violier, 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 in what appears to have been a
suicide, according to the police. He was 44.

The Swiss police said in a statement that Mr. Violiers body was found
late Sunday at his home in Crissier, Switzerland, near Lausanne.

Mr. Violier, a perfectionist known for his acumen in cooking game, ran
the Restaurant de lHôtel de Ville with his wife, Brigitte. It has been
awarded three Michelin stars and in December took the number one spot in
La Liste, Frances ranking of 1,000 restaurants in 48 countries.

The restaurants menu has included dishes such as €œpigs trotters from
the Jura with black truffles and glazed with Madeira wine,€� roast Bresse
chicken served with €œBlue Winter€� leeks and truffles, and a €œfantasy of
shellfish from the Saint-Brieuc Bay served raw in the shell on a
delicate velouté.€�

The precise circumstances of Mr. Violiers 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.

In 2003, Bernard Loiseau, the chef and owner of the Côte dOr, a
Michelin three-star restaurant in Burgundy, was found dead in his home
at 52.

According to the French news media, the chef had been distraught over a
slight demotion in the Gault & Millau guide and was worried that he
could lose a star in the next edition of the Michelin guide.

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.

€œPeople are quite macho in the industry, and people dont feel they can
really talk about their problems or the stresses of what is being asked
of them,€� he said.

€œIt is considered a sign of weakness if you complain,€� he added, €œand
that is intensified the higher and higher you go.€�

Mr. Violier was born 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, one of the worlds most influential arbiters of
culinary excellence.

€œIt would seem that he has ended his life with a firearm,€� the statement
from the police said, adding that an investigation into the
circumstances of his death had been opened. Out of respect for the
family, the authorities said, no further statements would be made.

Towering figures of French cuisine paid homage to Mr. Violier, remarking
on his self-effacing character, his kindness and a rare artistry that
garnered him a legion of followers.

One of Frances most celebrated chefs, the octogenarian Paul Bocuse,
wrote on Twitter that Mr. Violier had been a €œgreat chef, great man, a
gigantic talent.€�

€œThe planet has been orphaned by the loss of this exceptional chef,
Benoît Violier. I am devastated,€� another renowned French chef, Marc
Veyrat, wrote on Twitter.

The Michelin guide released its list of starred restaurants in France
for 2016 on Monday, and although Mr. Violiers 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.

€œWe are shocked by the death of Benoît Violier, a chef of immense
talent,€� the Michelin guides said on Twitter. €œOur thoughts are with his
family and his colleagues.€�

Patricia Zizza, who has worked by Mr. Bocuses side for 40 years and has
known some of the worlds greatest chefs, including Mr. Violier, said
that leading chefs were under intense pressure and that the expectation
of creating a masterwork every day could push some to depression and
exhaustion.

€œEvery day, chefs are in the theater and must produce great work, and
there is strong pressure to maintain that excellence,€� Ms. Zizza said.
€œIt 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 ones personal life.€�

She said it was possible that Mr. Violiers success at a young age had
weighed on him, although she noted his exceptional calm under pressure.

€œHe was very calm and mastered every situation. He was young to be in
his position and have such success,€� Ms. Zizza said. €œBeing on top of La
Liste no doubt put a lot of pressure. When someone says you are the best
today, you have to be the best tomorrow.€�

Ms. Zizza said Mr. Violier had been particularly 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 lHôtel de Ville in 2012, after Mr. Rochat retired.

When Mr. Violier was awarded the top place in La Listes ranking in
December, he responded with characteristic modesty.

€œI 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 dhôtel who
has been in his post for four decades.

€œThis 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. €œIts a great tribute to the team.€�

The French Foreign Ministry commissioned La Liste, apparently as a
response to the London-based Worlds 50 Best Restaurants. The British
rankings were criticized by some in France for failing to give French
restaurants their rightful due, but other members of the culinary
establishment have said they regard the alternative effort as misguided.

On Monday, February 1, 2016 at 10:15:32 AM UTC-6, Travis McGee wrote:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/wo...chef-dies.html
>
> Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44
>
>
Yeah, I just read that online a few minutes ago and it did
say it was a self-inflicted gunshot.

On 2/1/2016 9:55 AM, wrote:
> On Monday, February 1, 2016 at 10:15:32 AM UTC-6, Travis McGee wrote:
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/02/wo...chef-dies.html
>>
>> Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44
>>
>>
> Yeah, I just read that online a few minutes ago and it did
> say it was a self-inflicted gunshot.
>

Figgures. Them frenchys is all queer 'n cowards.

On 2/1/2016 11:15 AM, Travis McGee wrote:
> Patricia Zizza, who has worked by Mr. Bocuses side for 40 years

I don't know who this chef was but someone worked with him since he was
FOUR?

Jill

On 2/1/2016 3:13 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Mon, 1 Feb 2016 15:05:01 -0500, jmcquown wrote:
>
>> On 2/1/2016 11:15 AM, Travis McGee wrote:
>>> Patricia Zizza, who has worked by Mr. Bocuse¢s side for 40 years
>>
>> I don't know who this chef was but someone worked with him since he was
>> FOUR?
>
> Bocuse (very famous - The Bocuse d'Or) is currently 90 years old and
> still ticking. He's not the one who prepared the human cabeza tartare
> with a gun.
>
> -sw
>
See how much I keep up with French chefs? <G>

Jill