The Story of Alexandre Dumaine: The Forgotten King of French Cooking

He held three Michelin stars for thirty years and cooked for kings, presidents, and Hemingway — yet almost nobody outside serious culinary history has heard his name. This episode tells the story of Alexandre Dumaine, the chef whose restaurant, La Côte d'Or in the small Burgundian town of Saulieu, was once called a national shrine of French gastronomy.

We trace his path from a working-class boyhood in Digoin, through a punishing apprenticeship in Vichy, Cannes, and Paris, and a decorated stint on the Western Front in the First World War, to the decade in Algeria that shaped the chef he would become. Along the way we meet his wife, Jeanne Dumaine, the front-of-house partner without whom, by every account, the story doesn't work the same way.

At the heart of the episode is Saulieu itself: thirty years of three Michelin stars, a "less is more" philosophy built on reduced sauces and the finest Bresse chicken, and a clientele that ran from King Alfonso XIII to Salvador Dalí to a lone truck driver treated with exactly the same care. We close with one of the most generous successions in French culinary history, and the legacy Dumaine left behind at Saulieu.

Fabulously Delicious is the podcast for anyone who loves French food, French culinary history, and the stories behind the plates. New episodes explore the regions, chefs, and dishes that built French gastronomy — subscribe so you don't miss the next one, and follow along on video and social for more.

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