Eric Frechon
Le Bristol Hotel
Paris, France
http://www.lebristolparis.com

Three stars — three!  Chef Eric Frechon and his staff garnered the only additional star this year in the Michelin "Red Guide," and the pride is palpable. Although some chefs have been opting out of the intense effort to maintain (and, if possible, gain) their Michelin stars, Le Bristol's chef can point with pride to the restaurant's food, service, staff, and ambience, all judged impeccable. Of course, there are others whose opinions he values perhaps even more: his regulars, including French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

As a young man, Eric Frechon lived in a resort town. Working in the restaurants was the natural thing to do — and soon Frechon found he had an affinity for cooking. Studying at Ecole Hoteliere de Rouen, he started his career in 1980 at the Restaurant La Grande Cascade, then at the Hotel Le Bristol. As with most chefs starting out, his career path led through several restaurants. In Frechon’s case, the path led through some of the finest kitchens in France: Restaurant Taillevent, Restaurant La Tour d’Argent, the Hotel de Crillon. French also spend two years in Spain working at the Hotel Byblos Andaluz.

In 1993, at the age of 36, he won the title Meilleur Ouvrier de France. By 1995 he had opened his own restaurant, La Verriere d’Eric Frechon, in Paris.

Returning to Le Bristol, he took the helm and developed his own style of cuisine. It is, he says, “a cuisine based on our French culinary heritage, always in evolution, like the language.”