Pierre Gagnaire

Pierre Galmier Gagnaire (; born 9 April 1950) is a French chef who is the head chef and owner of the eponymous Pierre Gagnaire restaurant at 6 Rue Balzac in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Gagnaire is an iconoclastic chef at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement.

Beginning his career in Saint-Étienne where he won three Michelin stars, Gagnaire tore at the conventions of classic French cooking by introducing juxtapositions of flavours, tastes, textures, and ingredients. On his website, he gives his mission statement as the wish to run a restaurant which is 'facing tomorrow but respectful of yesterday' ("tourné vers demain mais soucieux d'hier"). In 2005, both restaurants were ranked in the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants by industry magazine Restaurant, with Pierre Gagnaire ranking third for three consecutive years (2006, 2007, and 2008).

In the United States In December 2009, Gagnaire made his United States debut with Twist, a new restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas, which received a Forbes Five-Star Award but has since closed.

Media appearances Pierre Gagnaire has made appearances on Fuji TV's Iron Chef. He represented France in the 1995 Iron Chef World Cup in Tokyo, with the other chefs chosen being Italy's Gianfranco Vissani and Hong Kong's Xu Cheng as well as Iron Chef Japanese Rokusaburo Michiba representing Japan. In 1996, Chef Gagnaire also appeared in the Japanese Iron Chef "France Battle Special: Battle Lobster" at Château de Brissac, where he competed against and bested Iron Chef French Hiroyuki Sakai. This battle was labeled as “25 Hour Battle” when it aired because both chefs collected ingredients themselves in local markets over a 24-hour period, and then cooked for the show’s usual one hour competition format. Upon the decision, Sakai raised Gagnaire’s hand as the match winner, and Gagnaire promptly adjusted hand positions to raise Sakai’s, in a sign of mutual respect.

Politics In 2024, he was approached to stand in the 2024 European Parliament election to stand as a candidate for the Rural Alliance, but decided against it.

Awards In 2015, Gagnaire won a Best Chef in the World award.

Restaurants Paris, Pierre Gagnaire, 1996– Paris, Gaya rive gauche par Pierre Gagnaire, 2005– Berlin, Les Solistes by Pierre Gagnaire, 2013–2016 (closed) Bordeaux, La Grande Maison Châtelaillon, Gaya Cuisine De Bords de Mer Courchevel, Piero TT, 2007– Danang, La Maison 1888 Dubai, Restaurant CHOIX Pâtisserie TT Restaurant par Pierre Gagnaire, 2008– Gordes, Peir 2015- Hong Kong, Pierre, 2006–2020 Las Vegas, Twist, 2009– London, Sketch, 2002– Moscow, Les Menus par Pierre Gagnaire, (closed) Riyadh, Acacia by Pierre Gagnaire, (closed) Seoul, Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul, 2008– Saint-Tropez, Colette, (closed) Shanghai, Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire, 2017– Tokyo, http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/ Pierre Gagnaire - Tokyo], 2005– Barrière Hotels group (Paris, Enghien les Bains, Courchevel, Toulouse, Cannes, La Baule) Fouquet's