The early years
In 1930, Burgundy native Jean-Baptiste Troisgros moves to Roanne, a town intersected by the N-7 highway frequented by a new breed of 'gastronomads' (food-lovers willing to cross France in search of a memorable meal). He buys a modest restaurant with a few rooms, facing the train station.

Under her husband's knowing and critical eye, Marie Troisgros prepared dishes that were essentially bourgeois and regional. Jean-Baptiste had very firm ideas about cooking: for him, it was out of the question to use the standard multi-purpose sauce bases or roux (a flour-and-butter thickener) that masked the flavours of ingredients. There was no question, either, of disguising foods with useless preparations or heavy-handed decorations: simplicity, sincerity and truth were his watchwords, for the wine he chose as well as the food he served.

Pierre and Jean : the growth
Together, the brothers embark on a wandering apprenticeship throughout France. In Paris they train at the haute cuisine temple Lucas Carton, where they gain a solid grounding in classic French cooking. At La Pyramide in the French town of Vienne, the celebrated Fernand Point, a defender of simplicity, teaches them to preserve the pure flavours of ingredients. They return to Roanne in 1954 armed with a rich culinary education. Just a year later, Pierre and Jean's homely country restaurant is awarded its first Michelin star. Within ten years it becomes the region's most popular restaurant, soon to be one of the best-known in France. In 1965, now known as Frères Troisgros, it wins a second star; in 1968, the third. Part of a group of chefs who promote an open-minded approach to French cooking, the brothers are honoured in 1972 by French critics Gault et Millau with the title "Best Restaurant in the World".

Michel and Marie-Pierre
Michel and Marie-Pierre meet while studying hotel management in Grenoble. For several years they both train at top hotels and restaurants. Michel cooks with chefs Alain Chapel, Freddy Girardet, and Michel Guérard, gaining experience at the legendary Taillevent and Comme Chez Soi, while Marie concentrates on hotels, working at the Hilton in Brussels, the Connaught Hotel in London, Petrossian in New York and the Pré des Sources in Eugénie les Bains. Settled in Roanne since 1982, they constantly strive to perfect and breathe new life into this long-standing success.