Did you know that Auguste Gusteau, from Ratatouille, was inspired by a real chef? Discover the story of Bernard Loiseau
In 2022, Pixar’s classic animation “Ratatouille” completed 15 years of release. The film tells the story of the little Parisian mouse Remy, who dreams of becoming a great chef and goes after his greatest drawing in one of the finest restaurants in the city: Gusteau’s.
In the plot, the rodent cook is a big fan of the renowned chef Auguste Gusteau, owner of the restaurant Gusteau’s and who had a famous saying that “anyone can cook”. During the story, Remy ends up discovering that his great idol ended up passing away after receiving a harsh criticism from Anton Ego, a strict culinary critic. But, did you know that a similar story happened in real life?
real life tasteau
Gusteau’s tragic story didn’t come out of nowhere. It was based on the life of bernard loiseaua famous French chef who also passed away after a strong gastronomic critic stated that he could lose his third star in the main publication that serves as a reference for world gastronomy, the “Michelin Guide”.
bernard was born in 1951 in Auvergne, in the Burgundy region of France. His first restaurant was the same one responsible for taking him to stardom: La Côte d’Or (today known as Relais Bernard Loiseau), located in Saulieu, four hours from the capital Paris, which was purchased in 1982, according to the portal R7.
During his entire career, Loiseau maintained a relentless quest for perfection, where he sought to take his name to the highest echelon of gastronomy, and conquer the highest scores in the Gault-Millau guide, in addition to his dreamed Michelin stars.
His dream was finally realized in 1991, when he finally received three Michelin stars. His Gault-Millau score was also very high: 19/20. However, after achieving his greatest professional achievements, the renowned chef — who was extremely perfectionist — began to suffer from an enormous fear of losing the stars and his score.
the tragic end
In January 2003, Francois Simonfamous restaurant critic for the French newspaper Le Figaro, published an article claiming that the cuisine of bernard was no longer relevant, and that La Côte d’Or would lose Gault-Millau points in addition to its coveted Michelin stars. Next month, Loiseauwho was only 52 years old, took his own life in his home, in the room he shared with his wife, shaking the whole world of gastronomy.
His restaurant, in fact, lost rating points, going from 19/20 to 17/20. However, no stars were withdrawn on La Côte d’Or. Nowadays, the restaurant has been renamed Relais Bernard Loiseau, and still has three Michelin stars. It was inherited by the chef’s widow, Dominique Loiseau and has the kitchen commanded by the chef Patrick Bertron🇧🇷
Source: Recreio
