Chef Bernard Loiseau will have his biopic, by the director of Hippocrates

The dazzling and tragic destiny of the emblematic chef of French gastronomy will be brought to the screen by Thomas Lilti. A biopic that promises to delve into the heart of a quest for excellence that is as luminous as it is destructive.

He was one of the greatest French chefs. The extraordinary destiny of Bernard Loiseau will soon be brought to the screen.

The legendary cook, major figure in French gastronomy of the 80s and 90s (who even served as inspiration for chef Auguste Gusteau in Ratatouille) will be the subject of a biopic currently in development at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, Hugo Sélignac’s company.

Directing and writing the screenplay is Thomas Lilti, the creator of Hippocratesnominated for a César, who has established himself in recent years as one of the best chroniclers of the world of work in France. We also owe him Country doctor, First year or even A serious job.

Bernard Loiseau, who died in 2003 at the age of 52, remains an essential figure in haute cuisine. At the head of the restaurant La Côte d’Or, in Saulieu, Burgundy, he won a third Michelin star in 1991 and transformed this village into an international gastronomic destination. A visionary, he also became the first chef to list his restaurant on the stock market, an unprecedented gesture at the time. Behind this resounding success, a more fragile trajectory: the chef, prey to depression, will end his life.

“Since the beginning of my career, I have tried to tell the story of the work and of the women and men confronted with their vocation,” explains Thomas Lilti in a press release. “With Bernard Loiseau, this question becomes even more intimate. Exploring one’s life means talking about excellence, work, doubt, legitimacy and solitude.”

The filmmaker continues: “It is also an attempt to understand genius, in all its visionary power, but also in its profoundly destructive dimension. By immersing myself almost frantically in his life and his work, I discover a deeply loved and loving man, whose tragic end reveals flaws that only fiction can probably approach.

For her part, Bérangère Loiseau, his eldest daughter and president of the Bernard Loiseau group, welcomes the director’s approach:

“We are very touched by Thomas Lilti’s sensitivity to the story of Bernard Loiseau. Like medicine, gastronomy is a passion that requires total commitment to the service of others and their happiness. The quest for excellence is permanent: every gesture, every detail counts. This is exactly what animated Bernard Loiseau: the love of others and a job well done.”

A project as yet untitled, but already loaded with a promise: that of telling, beyond the myth, the intimate burning of a man in search of excellence. No release date announced.