Mother KNOWS BEST

French chef Eugénie Brazier was the first person to earn six Michelin stars in the 1930s and her restaurant in Lyon is still going strong, as Paola Westbeek finds out

- Paola Westbeek

Though the majority of chefs lauded in the prestigious Guide Michelin have been men, there is one woman whose culinary talent elevated her to legendary status.

Fiercely passionate about her craft and a perfectionist who ran her kitchen with an eagle eye, she has been an inspiration to France’s leading chefs, yet her name is often forgotten in the pages of culinary history.

From peasant girl to cuisinière

For Eugénie Brazier, born on 12 June, 1895 in La Tranclière, Ain, the road to success was marked by hardship but followed with a hearty dose of determination.

She had already experienced a taste of real work by the tender age of five, when she was assigned the task of looking after the pigs and horse on the family farm. Even though the young Eugénie grew up with barely enough to eat, some of her fondest food memories took place during those early years.

Her favourite meal, taken in the fields with her mother, was a light broth of vegetables and eggs poured over bread. She learned to make tarts at her mother’s side, saw how animals were butchered and was taught that nothing should ever go to waste. After her mother’s death, when she was only 10 years old, Eugénie was employed on various farms, leaving her little time for school. By 19, she had acquired a job looking after a wealthy family in Lyon and it was there that her culinary talent truly blossomed.