page_title: Mère (restaurateur)
section_title: Lyon
hierarchical_section_title: Mère (restaurateur) / Lyon
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Restaurant Mère Brazier, 12 rue Royale à Lyon ( intersection de la rue Royale et de la Rue Eugénie Brazier
context_page_description: Mère is an honorary title given to talented female professional cooks, many of whom had no formal training, in France during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Between 1759 and the end of the 20th century multiple women have been called Mère. Their work turned Lyon into the gastronomic center of France and the world, and the most famous of them, Mère Brazier, is regarded as "the mother of modern French cooking".
context_section_description: Lyon is known as the "cradle" of the Mères, and the Mères had a profound effect on Lyonnaise cuisine, according to Curnonsky turning Lyon into the food capital of France and the world. According to Jean Vitaux, the Mères of Lyon "shaped an original, feminine and regional definition of gastronomy." Writing for Medium, Francois de Melogue said "(they) brought the gastronomic spotlight to Lyon, the undisputed gastronomical capital of France. Their influence and impact helped define and shape classic French cooking in modern times." According to Eater, their work "secured the city’s reputation for exceptional cuisine."
  
  The first mention of a Mère of Lyons was in 1759 when Mère Guy, who cooked at an inn near the Rhône in Mulatières and became famous for her eel stew or eel matelote and her crawfish gratin. In the 1800s her granddaughter also became known as Mère Guy. The restaurant, at 35 Quai Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was awarded three Michelin stars in 1936.
  In the 1830s in the Charpenes quarter, Mère Brigousse or Brugousse, also known as La Mère des Amoureux (mother of lovers), was famous for a dish called Tétons de Venus (Venus's breasts), a dish of giant dumplings popular among groups of young men dining stag for bachelor parties.
  Mère Filloux or Fillioux, born Françoise Fayolle in 1865 in Puy-de-Dôme, is called La Reine des Poulardes and Empress of the Lyon Mothers. She was the first of the Mères whose recipes were still in use as of the early 21st century. She moved to Lyon in 1890 from Cunlhat and was hired as a cook by a local businessman. She created the dish poulet demi deuil (half-mourning chicken), which featured black truffles inserted under the white skin of the local breed of chicken and is considered a classic of French cuisine. She was also noted for her truffle-flavored cream soup and poached chicken, artichoke hearts stuffed with foie gras, quenelles and crawfish, and lobster with shallots, tomatoes, wine, and brandy. She claimed to have never made more than these five dishes, saying, "I know how to cook them, and I will never make any others." She married Louis Filloux in 1900 and bought a restaurant at 73 Rue Duquesne in Lyon's 6th arrondisement, where frequent customers were Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, who called her "an artist" at carving a chicken. She hired only women to work in her kitchen. She retired in 1925 and is estimated to have carved a half million chickens during her career. Near the end of her career she became such a celebrated cook that female cooks outside of Lyon started to be called Mère.
  Born Eugénie Brazier in 1895, Mère Brazier began working as a maid and then as a cook for a family around 1914 or 1916 at the age of 21. She later worked for Mère Filloux, though Filloux was "endlessly critical." In 1921 at age 26 she bought a former grocery at 12 Rue Royale and turned it into a restaurant with 15 seats which opened in 1922. Like her mentor Filloux she also specialized in poulet demi deuil. The mayor of Lyon, Édouard Herriot, was a frequent customer. She expanded her restaurant but handed it over to her son, moved to the small nearby village of Col de la Luère, and in 1932 opened another restaurant there. Michelin awarded it two stars the year it opened and three the following year, making her the first woman to hold three Michelin stars. The original restaurant was also awarded three stars that year, and Mère Brazier became the first person of either sex to hold six Michelin stars. She trained other Michelin star winners, including Paul Bocuse, who worked for her at the restaurant in Col de la Luère and also specialized in half-mourning chicken, and Bernard Pacaud. She died in 1977. The original restaurant was in 2001 still being operated by her granddaughter. According to the Independent, Mère Brazier is regarded as "the mother of modern French cooking."
  Mère Bourgeois, born Marie Humbert in 1870, was hired as a cook for a wealthy family. She married Andre Bourgeois and they bought a former inn in Priay near Lyon. She was known for dishes based on local fish and game, includi
caption: Restaurant Mère Brazier
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