Meet
Eugénie Brazier
Eugénie Brazier had an extraordinary destiny at a time when women’s lives were generally confined to marriage, motherhood and the running of the home.
Independence achieved through sheer grit and determination, culinary expertise recognised by the greatest names in the field, talent celebrated in 1933 with three stars awarded by the prestigious Michelin Guide for the two restaurants she opened, first in Lyon and then at the Col de la Luère.
Although Marie Bourgeois received the same accolade that year and Alain Ducasse would later repeat the feat, this remarkable achievement – a woman simultaneously awarded three Michelin stars for both her establishments – remains unmatched to this day.
The years of learning
Born in 1895 in the village of La Tranclière, in the Ain region, into a family of farmers, Eugénie lost her mother at the tender age of ten and was subsequently placed on farms where she tended the cows and pigs.
At 19, she found herself an ‘unwed mother’ to a little boy conceived with a man married to another. This was doubly scandalous for her father, who promptly cast her out of the family home. Eugénie placed her little Gaston with a wet nurse and left for Lyon.
She found a job with a middle-class family, replacing the cook when she fell ill. This marked the beginning of her vocation which, on the advice of her employer, led her to be hired by Françoise Fayolle, better known as the Mère Fillioux, one of the most renowned ‘Mères Lyonnaises’.
This apprenticeship would prove to be life-changing. At the time, women were not allowed to train in the culinary arts, but her patroness would teach her much more than just recipes and techniques. She also showed her how to manage an establishment, to select produce and where to purchase it.
12 Rue Royale,
from grocery counter to legendary address
After working at the Brasserie du Dragon, Eugénie Brazier opened her own restaurant on 2nd April 1921, in premises previously occupied by a grocery shop. It was a traditional Lyonnais eatery, known as a ‘bouchon’, and was located at 12 Rue Royale in Lyon’s 1st arrondissement. It seated sixteen covers and the tables were dressed in Basque tablecloths instead of the traditional bouchon-style chequered cloths.
On the menu: chilled caviar, artichoke hearts with foie gras, quenelle dumpling gratin, sole meunière and truffle braised demi-deuil chicken, to name but a few… Having learnt these legendary recipes under Mère Fillioux, they were a firm part of Eugénie’s repertoire. Her delicious and generous cuisine attracted more and more people, including Mayor Edouard Herriot, who lived nearby and soon became a regular at her table.
And thanks to the renowned culinary critic, Curnonsky, who visited in 1925, together with the connections of her lover, a chauffeur in private service, and simple word of mouth, La Mère Brazier quickly grew to be one of the most popular gourmet destinations in Lyon.
From the Presqu’île of Lyon
to the Col de la Luère
In 1928, Eugénie felt the need to take a break and went to stay in a modest chalet at the Col de la Luère in Pollionay, on the edge of the Lyonnais mountain range. A year later, she opened a restaurant there, which would take over from the one on the Presqu’île during the summer months and at weekends. Both restaurants were awarded two and then three Michelin stars in 1932 and 1933. As the years went by, her son Gaston took over the kitchen at the Lyon establishment, while his mother remained at the Col de la Luère, where the original log cabin had since been replaced by a stone building.
In 1946, the young Paul Bocuse came here to learn the ropes. “It was a school of life,” he later recounted. “I learned how to milk cows, do laundry, iron clothes and grow vegetables in a kitchen garden.
La Mère never gave us a day off.” Bernard Pacaud, chef at the three-starred L’Ambroisie in Paris, also came here to learn his trade at the tender age of 14.
Eugénie Brazier passed over the reins to her son Gaston in 1968, who died in 1974. She herself died on 2nd March 1977. Her granddaughter Jacotte, Gaston’s daughter, then took over and ran the restaurant until 2004. After an unfortunate sale and liquidation, the restaurant was finally auctioned off in 2008 and bought by Mathieu Viannay. “I am delighted that he is at the helm,” said Jacotte, happy to see a talented successor rekindle the flame of her fiery grandmother’s cuisine.
