Fernand Point

Fernand Point (25 February 1897 in Louhans – 4 March 1955 in Vienne) was a French chef and restaurateur and is considered to be the father of modern French cuisine. He founded the French restaurant La Pyramide in Vienne near Lyon.

He was born in Louhans, Saône-et-Loire, France. Both his parents were accomplished chefs in cordon bleu and ran a buffet place. He started cooking when he was ten and worked at some of the best restaurants of the time.

He had received his training with Foyot in Paris, the Bristol Hotel, Paris, the Majestic in Cannes, and the Royal Hotel in Évian-les-Bains. In 1922, he and his family moved to Vienne, a city in southwest France near Lyon, and opened a restaurant. Two years later his father left the restaurant to Fernand, who renamed it La Pyramide.

Point opened Restaurant de la Pyramide when he was 24, about 20 miles South of Lyon in the town of Vienne. The restaurant was awarded three Michelin stars.

The book Ma Gastronomie was first published in French in 1969. The book includes 200 recipes based on Point's notes. The chef Charlie Trotter described Point's Ma Gastronomie as the most important cookbook.