Philippe Rochat was born November 23, 1953 at Le Sentier, Switzerland, son of an Italian mother and a father from the Combier region.

Fredy Girardet was looking for a cook. Without a moment's hesitation, Philippe Rochat applied. His first day in the kitchens of the Restaurant Girardet - July 1, 1980 - marked the beginning of a sixteen-year adventure, an apprenticeship that would find him appointed in turn to the pastry, meat and vegetable stations, before being promoted to Chef de cuisine in 1989. He became Girardet's second-in-command, his shadow and double, a model employee whom Girardet described as decent and hardworking and in whom he placed absolute trust. "His cooking is unique," says Rochat. "If it did not exist, I would be miserable." When his protégé took over the restaurant, Girardet confided, "Rochat is the heir to my philosophy." Indeed, under Philippe Rochat's direction, this internationally-renowned establishment was named one of the very best restaurants in the world on December 1, 1996.

When Philippe Rochat is not in the kitchen, he recharges his batteries with some sporting activity, running in the woods or cross-country skiing in the Joux valley, a passion he shares with his wife Franziska, a top athlete who took part in the Atlanta Olympics and the World Athletics Championships in Athens, and who placed first in the 1997 New York marathon. A jurist by training, she assists her husband in running the restaurant and the front of the house.