In Vonnas, a small village in the heart of Bresse, more than a century and a half of gastronomic history carries a single name: Blanc. Since 1872, three generations of cooks—grandmother Élisa, known as La Mère Blanc, her daughter-in-law Paulette, and today her grandson Georges—have transformed this rural auberge into a landmark of French cuisine.
Élisa Blanc was hailed by the great gastronome Curnonsky in 1933 as “the best cook in the world.” At her modest inn, she stirred frog legs with herbs over a coal stove, simmered Bresse chicken in cream with local crêpes, and braised saucisson with Beaujolais. Farmers, market vendors, and even Lyon’s mayor Edouard Herriot traveled by horse-drawn carriage to eat at her tables. She had the instinct for true cooking, Curnonsky said—few dishes, no frills, just the essence of Bresse.
By the 1950s, her daughter-in-law Paulette carried on the legacy. But in 1968, it fell to a 25-year-old grandson, Georges, to seize the reins. He had trained at the École Hôtelière of Thonon-les-Bains, served as a steward with Air France (to indulge his other passion, aviation), and learned from masters like Gaston Lenôtre. The young man returned home, determined to modernize the family inn and to write his own chapter.
Blanc’s rise was meteoric. Top of his class in Thonon in 1962, he soon earned recognition as Best Sommelier of Burgundy and Rhône-Alpes in 1970. He served his military duty as cook to Admiral Vedel aboard the aircraft carriers Foch and Clémenceau. In 1981, he achieved the profession’s summit: three Michelin stars at his eponymous restaurant in Vonnas. That same year, Gault et Millau named him Chef of the Year with an unprecedented 19.5/20.
But Georges Blanc was never content with three stars alone. Like his contemporary Paul Bocuse, he burned with the feu sacré, the sacred fire, of French gastronomy. His ambition was not only to cook, but to build.
Over four decades, Georges Blanc transformed Vonnas into a complete destination—a “Village Gourmand” unlike anything else in France. He bought and restored some thirty houses around the central square: hotels for every budget, from a five-star to the more modest Les Saules; restaurants ranging from the luxurious flagship to the rustic Ancienne Auberge and the casual Rouge & Blanc; bakeries, shops, a spa, even a small cinema and a helipad. Today, more than 330 people work under his name, making him one of the most influential chef-entrepreneurs in Europe.
At the heart of this constellation stands the three-star restaurant, where heritage and innovation meet. Signature dishes like the Crêpe Vonnassienne and the Poularde de Bresse “Élisa Blanc” honor his grandmother’s memory, while creations such as lobster flambéed with Savagnin or pigeon in crisp pastilla show a contemporary edge. His son Frédéric now works alongside him, co-creating the seasonal menus—continuing a lineage where family and kitchen are inseparable.
Blanc is also a man of wine. His cellar, with more than 140,000 bottles, is ranked among the greatest restaurant collections in the world. In 1985 he created the Domaine d’Azenay in southern Burgundy, planting 17 hectares of Chardonnay on what was then wasteland. The resulting Fleur d’Azenay is the natural companion to his Bresse poultry, an AOC product he has championed for decades as president of its producers’ association.
His commitment is both cultural and entrepreneurial. “Here, the dream begins on the plate—with taste, with emotion,” he says in his chef’s whites after an 80-cover dinner service. “But the dream continues outside—through the village, the flowers, the pools, the spa, the vineyards, the history. Everything here should bring joy.”
Despite his empire, Georges Blanc remains, at heart, a cook. His menus move between tradition and invention: the iconic poularde à la crème et aux morilles sits alongside bold creations like lobster with vin jaune and sorrel ravioli, chartreuse of crab with oscietra caviar, or autumn game pies enriched with foie gras and old Maury wine. Always, there is a balance between Bresse memory and 21st-century refinement.
“Without passion, there can be no elevation,” is his motto. It explains a career that reconciles capitalism with craftsmanship, business with art. Like his grandmother Élisa, he believes that cooking is a sacred mission—feeding one’s fellow humans with honesty and generosity.
And so, in the quiet village of Vonnas, Georges Blanc has built more than a restaurant. He has built a world: a place where history and modernity, family and enterprise, terroir and imagination come together in one of France’s most remarkable culinary legacies.
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