The new face of French cuisine

The history of the Hôtel de la Côte d’Or is, in many ways, the history of French cuisine. 

For almost a century, the restaurant in the inconspicuous Burgundian market town of Saulieu pioneered French gastronomy, serving as a watering hole for the rich, famous and infamous, and as a center of political intrigue. Marshal Philippe Pétain dined there during World War II as he fled from Vichy to Germany. Former President François Mitterrand often visited. 

At the height of its success, in the 1990s, under its chef Bernard Loiseau, the Côte d’Or commanded three stars in the illustrious Michelin Guide, with Loiseau one of only 25 chefs in France to win the foodie bible’s top rating: “Worthy of a special journey.”  Then came a darker period: Loiseau’s suicide, the stripping of one of its stars, the restaurant’s sale by his widow, the nearly fatal blow dealt by the coronavirus.

Three decades ago, I wrote a book called “Burgundy Stars: A Year in the Life of a Great French Restaurant” about Loiseau’s rise and I later wrote a magazine article about his suicide and its aftermath. And so when I heard about a new chapter in the restaurant’s history, I was eager to visit and see what was in store. 

At a moment in which the far right is in ascendance in France, with the anti-immigrant National Rally the country’s single-largest political party, a new chef has taken over the Côte d’Or’s famed kitchen — 40-year-old Louis-Philippe Vigilant. He’s a native of the Caribbean island of Martinique and he’s Black. What I wondered was what do the people of this predominantly white bastion of the rising right wing make of him?

As chef in the 1990s, Loiseau had embodied a particular type of Frenchness, straddling the modern and the traditional. He worked with local artisans: Colette, the goat cheesemaker; Daniel, the honey man; Jacques, the jam genius; and Jean-François, the snail producer. At the same time, he updated French haute cuisine, reducing cream and butter in his recipes for an increasingly urban population. Loiseau displayed showbiz promotion and global ambition, making frequent appearances on TV and opening bistros in Paris and even a restaurant in Japan. He produced frozen foods for supermarkets. And he took his company public on the Paris stock exchange.

After Bernard Loiseau’s death, his widow, Dominique, took over. | Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images

But a dark cloud hovered above this beautiful blend of traditional and modern: Loiseau suffered from manic depression. France considered the disease shameful, to be hidden, and Loiseau failed to confront his self-destructive demons. When Spanish and Danish chefs reinvented fine dining with molecular cuisine and festive foraging, Loiseau feared being toppled from the pinnacle. In 2003, he committed suicide.

After his death, his widow, Dominique, took over. Haute cuisine is not friendly to women and one of my book’s secondary storylines describes Dominique’s struggle to fit in. In a just-published memoir, “A Woman’s Revenge,” she recounts how she felt “no choice except to continue.” Her husband’s legacy counted on it. Saulieu needed it — the restaurant is the town’s largest employer, with a payroll of 80. Although the Côte d’Or stayed in business, it struggled. As business stagnated and its stars started to fade away, Dominique sold off the profitable Parisian branches and retrenched in Burgundy. The bistro in Japan had been destroyed by an earthquake.

Alongside its star attraction. Saulieu slumped. The town’s population fell from 3,000 at the turn of the century to about 2,300, with almost a third over 65.  Three decades ago, the city counted five doctors, four dentists and three architects. Today, it counts three doctors, one dentist and one architect. Three decades ago, 12 restaurants crowded the main Nationale 6 road, and crucially for any French town, five bakeries. Today, only six restaurants and three bakeries remain in business. “We’re an aging, dying town,” said Hubert Couilloud, the retired maître d’hôtel and Bernard’s longtime confidant.

Anger fills the air. Local farmers protesting high prices, heavy regulation and foreign competition have turned signs upside down, unscrewing, flipping, then screwing them back on, transforming Saulieu into ueiluaS.  During last year’s election, a protest vote turned to the extremes, allowed the far right to win the first round of voting. Like elsewhere in France, a last-minute surprise vote in the final round allowed the moderate right to hang onto power.

Until Vigilant arrived in this rural backwater, the kitchen staff included Japanese, British or even American members, but almost no dark-skinned faces. Yet the new chef’s rise to preeminence in the town’s biggest business has been smooth. “In Martinique, we have no great gastronomy,” Vigilant said in a quiet yet determined voice, standing like a general in front of his white-toqued kitchen brigade.“If you want to be a chef, it’s here.”

With its parent under a new CEO — Loiseau’s daughter, Bérangère (R) — the Côte d’Or is ambitious once again. | Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images

With its parent under a new CEO — Loiseau’s daughter, Bérangère — the Côte d’Or is ambitious once again. A Parisian business school graduate, Bérangère has opened a new “Loiseau du Temps” in the regional city Besançon, the first of four planned new regional bistros. A new Loiseau bistro in Tokyo is thriving.

In Saulieu, Bérangère bought a 17th-century edifice across the street from the headquarters’ gastronomic temple and turned it into a keenly priced, comfortable traditional hostelry and restaurant, a casual alternative to its fine dining parent establishment. She took the flagship Côte d’Or upscale, building a stunning spa and spiffing up its spacious rooms. “We want to make this a luxury resort for people to stay several days,” Bérangère said. In March 2024, the company reported sales of €8.78 million and eked out a €134,000 profit, compared to a €823,000 loss the previous year.

The key to the future is Vigilant. Determined to become a chef, he left Martinique at 17 to attend hotel school — none existed on the island. “I saw a face from the Caribbean trudging up the street — it was a surprise,” recalls Jean Berteau, the retired former owner of La Borne Impériale, another Saulieu restaurant.  “We soon became friends because I loved the islands and vacationed there during winters.”

At the Côte d’Or, Vigilant met his future wife, pastry chef Lucile Darosey. They have two children and have bought a house in town. “I love it here — it’s a great place to raise a family,” he said.

 The restaurant’s new menu includes Loiseau classics, including the famed sautéed frog’s legs, served with a puree of garlic and parsley. He has added his own touches, including foie gras bathed in black cardamom, sweetbreads soaked in chestnuts and turbot grilled in citrus combawa leaves. The portions are robust, generous and filling. Darosey’s dessert, an ethereal rhubarb tart, is topflight. Overall, the techniques and tastes are traditional, not revolutionary or avant-garde. 

When I asked around whether his race had ever been an issue in the conservative town, I was answered by laughing denials. Despite the country’s lurch to the far right, Saulieu accepts and admires his talents. Not race, but economics and how the country’s broken politics imperil business confidence was what was on people’s minds. 

The key to the future is Vigilant. Determined to become a chef, he left Martinique at 17 to attend hotel school. | Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images

An election last year produced a split parliament, dominated by the far left and far right. A minority centrist government failed to pass a budget to bring the country’s spiraling debt under control. This recovery remains fragile — like France’s economic fortunes. After several years of moderate growth, the economy is expected to stagnate this year. 

At the Côte d’Or, reservations before a recent holiday were down. The lunchtime dining room remained almost empty. “The clock is ticking,” says Bérangère. “People worry, they don’t know what is coming next.”