This has been a very bad few weeks for Chicago chefs. Jean Banchet, owner and chef of the legendary Le Français, has died:
Jean Banchet was Chicago’s first celebrity chef, a prodigiously talented cook and gregarious personality who almost single-handedly raised Chicago’s dining reputation from a steak-and-potatoes town to a serious restaurant city.
Banchet, 72, died Sunday in his Jupiter, Fla., home after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“It was three weeks ago today that we got the news,” said Banchet’s wife, Doris. “It went so fast it was unbelievable. February would have been our 50th anniversary.”
“It is sad,” said Pierre Pollin, former chef/owner at Le Titi de Paris and a close friend. “He was the greatest chef we had in Chicago.”
What Charlie Trotter was to contemporary American cuisine, Banchet was to classical French cuisine. During his ownership and tenure at Le Français, it was the highest-rated restaurant not just in Chicago but in the United States. I doubt we’ll see its or his like again.
Did Banchet write, or contribute to, a cookbook; if so, title(s) please,I would like to observe his life by buying a copy.
Thank you.
Mike Murphy