Troisgros family
Troisgros is a multigenerational French restaurant and hospitality family best known for its Michelin three-star haute cuisine tradition.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
The Troisgros family is a French restaurant and hospitality dynasty whose principal establishment is now based at Le Bois sans feuilles in Ouches, near Roanne in the Loire department. The family enterprise began in 1930, when Jean-Baptiste Troisgros and his wife, Marie Badaut, acquired the Hôtel-Restaurant des Platanes opposite Roanne railway station. They renamed it Hôtel Moderne in 1935 and established a regional restaurant that combined straightforward cooking, attentive service and a strong interest in Burgundy wines. The family’s best-known period began with Jean-Baptiste’s sons, Jean and Pierre Troisgros. After professional training in leading French restaurants, the brothers returned to Roanne and took over the kitchen. In 1957 the business was renamed Les Frères Troisgros, with Pierre leading the cooking, Jean specializing in sauces and service, and their father continuing to work in the dining room and cellar. Michelin awarded the restaurant its first star in 1955, its second in 1965 and its third in 1968. The third star established the Troisgros name among the leading institutions of modern French gastronomy, while contemporary critics also praised the restaurant for precision, product quality and a relatively uncluttered style. The family’s cuisine evolved through successive generations. Jean and Pierre became associated with refined but direct cooking that respected the natural character of ingredients. Later, Michel Troisgros introduced a more personal approach influenced by his Italian maternal heritage, extensive travels and encounters with Japanese cuisine. Acidity, seasonal produce and lighter, more international combinations became important elements of his work. The family also expanded beyond its flagship restaurant through cafés, hotels, international partnerships and related restaurants in France, Japan and Russia. After Jean Troisgros died in 1983, Pierre continued the Roanne enterprise with his wife, Olympe, and later with their son Michel and Michel’s wife, Marie-Pierre. In 1995, Michel and Marie-Pierre opened Le Central opposite the Roanne station. They later developed projects including Le Koumir in Moscow, La Table du Lancaster in Paris, Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros in Tokyo and La Colline du Colombier in Iguerande. The Tokyo restaurant received two Michelin stars but closed in 2019, while the Moscow project ended after three years because of difficulties sourcing suitable ingredients. The historic Roanne premises eventually became too constrained for the family’s next generation. On 1 January 2017, the family left the railway-station site, and on 18 February 2017 opened Le Bois sans feuilles on a rural estate in Ouches. The property combines a glass-walled restaurant with farmland, woods, an orchard, a pond, cellars, kitchens and guest accommodation. The hotel component is associated with Relais & Châteaux and has been described as a five-star property. The Ouches site provides the setting for the family’s continuing fine-dining identity and was prominently featured in the documentary Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros. Leadership has continued into the fourth generation. César Troisgros, Michel and Marie-Pierre’s eldest son, worked in major kitchens in France, Spain, the United States and Brazil before joining the family project. He became increasingly involved at Le Bois sans feuilles and assumed sole responsibility for the restaurant’s kitchen in 2023. Léo Troisgros pursued training in France, Switzerland and Germany, helped open the Ouches establishment and later took over the direction of La Colline du Colombier with Lisa Roche; that establishment became independent in 2024. The family therefore operates less as a standardized chain than as a network of closely related restaurants, hotels and culinary ventures grounded in a recognizable Troisgros name.
History
The Troisgros family’s restaurant history began in 1930, when Jean-Baptiste Troisgros and Marie Badaut moved from Chalon-sur-Saône to Roanne and took over the Hôtel-Restaurant des Platanes opposite the railway station. Their cooking was rooted in regional French traditions and product quality, while the dining room and cellar reflected Jean-Baptiste’s interest in hospitality and Burgundy wines. The establishment became Hôtel Moderne in 1935. Their sons Jean and Pierre entered professional kitchens as teenagers and trained in leading restaurants, including Lucas Carton, La Pyramide, Maxim’s and the Hôtel de Crillon. They developed professional relationships with chefs including Paul Bocuse. Returning to Roanne, they joined their father and in 1957 renamed the business Les Frères Troisgros. Pierre concentrated on cooking, Jean on sauces and the dining-room experience, while Jean-Baptiste remained an important host and sommelier. Michelin awarded the restaurant stars in 1955 and 1965 before granting a third star in 1968. This recognition made the brothers central figures in the development of modern French gastronomy. The restaurant expanded its premises in 1970 and built a larger kitchen in 1976. In the 1980s, Pierre also collaborated with Japan’s Odakyu department store on a branded Troisgros food line sold through several stores. Jean Troisgros died suddenly in 1983. Pierre continued the business with his wife, Olympe Forté, and later brought in their son Michel and Michel’s wife, Marie-Pierre. Michel’s cooking gradually diverged from the most iconic dishes of the brothers’ era. He removed preparations that had become overly associated with the house and developed a more seasonal, travel-informed style shaped by Italy, Japan and other international experiences. The family also renovated the Roanne premises and added a suspended garden and new rooms. The family expanded through several ventures. Le Central opened in Roanne in 1995 as a café, restaurant and grocery. Le Koumir opened in Moscow in 2001 but lasted three years, partly because consistent access to suitable ingredients proved difficult. La Table du Lancaster opened in Paris in 2004 and earned a Michelin star the following year; the collaboration ended after a change of ownership in 2014. Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros opened in Tokyo in 2006 and received two Michelin stars in 2008. La Colline du Colombier opened in Iguerande in 2008 as a rural restaurant and lodging project. The next major transition came when the family left its long-held railway-station premises. The site’s physical limitations made it difficult to develop a suitable future for Michel and Marie-Pierre’s sons, César and Léo. The Roanne restaurant closed at the beginning of 2017, and Le Bois sans feuilles opened in Ouches on 18 February of that year. The new estate integrated a restaurant, farm, cellars, kitchens, woodland, orchard, pond and guest rooms, allowing the family to connect hospitality with landscape and agriculture. César trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse and in prominent kitchens in France, Spain, the United States and Brazil. He joined the family’s Ouches project and gradually took over its culinary direction, becoming solely responsible for the restaurant in 2023. Léo trained in France, Switzerland and Germany, helped with the opening of Le Bois sans feuilles and later directed La Colline du Colombier with Lisa Roche. That establishment became independent in 2024. Pierre Troisgros died in 2020, but the family’s restaurant and hospitality activities continue through later generations.
- 2024
La Colline du Colombier becomes independent
[1]Léo Troisgros and Lisa Roche make the Iguerande establishment independent.
- 2023
César Troisgros takes sole culinary responsibility
[1]César becomes solely responsible for the kitchen at Le Bois sans feuilles.
- 2020
Michelin Green Star
[1]The Ouches establishment is listed as receiving a Michelin Green Star.
- 2017
Le Bois sans feuilles opens in Ouches
[1]The main family restaurant relocates from Roanne to a rural estate near the Côte roannaise.
- 2008
La Colline du Colombier opens
[1]The family expands into rural hospitality in Iguerande with a restaurant and guest accommodation.
- 1995
Le Central opens
[1]Michel and Marie-Pierre open a café-restaurant-grocery in Roanne.
- 1968
Third Michelin star
[1]The Roanne restaurant reaches three Michelin stars, a distinction it has retained according to the reference material.
- 1966
Relais & Châteaux membership
[1]The family hotel becomes associated with Relais & Châteaux.
- 1965
Second Michelin star and Meilleur Ouvrier de France distinction
[1]The restaurant receives a second Michelin star, while Jean Troisgros earns the Meilleur Ouvrier de France title in cooking.
- 1957
Les Frères Troisgros is established
[1]Jean and Pierre take a leading role and the Roanne restaurant adopts the Les Frères Troisgros name.
Products and positioning
An internationally recognized, family-owned French haute-cuisine and hospitality house combining multigenerational craft, seasonal produce, contemporary technique, regional identity and influences from Italy, Japan and other culinary cultures.
Fine-dining restaurant and hotel · 2017
Le Bois sans feuilles
The current principal Troisgros establishment in Ouches combines a high-end restaurant with a rural estate, guest rooms, farm buildings, cellars, gardens, woodland and an orchard. Its architecture places the dining room within the surrounding landscape, while its cuisine continues the family’s seasonal and contemporary French tradition.
Café-restaurant and grocery · 1995
Le Central
Opened in Roanne in 1995, Le Central offers accessible family cooking alongside culinary references drawn from the Troisgros travels. The venue also sells selected food products, linking restaurant service with a small specialty-grocery format.
Rural restaurant and lodging · 2008
La Colline du Colombier
Located in Iguerande, La Colline du Colombier combines a restaurant with guest lodgings and cabins set in the countryside. The project extends the Troisgros approach beyond formal urban fine dining and emphasizes local architecture, landscape and a relaxed rural experience.
International fine-dining restaurant · 2006
Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros
Opened at the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo, this restaurant interpreted the Roanne tradition through Japanese and other local seasonal ingredients. It received two Michelin stars in the 2008 guide before closing in 2019.
Hotel restaurant · 2004
La Table du Lancaster
Michel Troisgros operated this restaurant at Paris’s Hôtel Lancaster. It received a Michelin star in 2005, and the collaboration ended in 2014 following a change in ownership.
International restaurant · 2001
Le Koumir
Opened in a nineteenth-century mansion in Moscow, Le Koumir represented a short-lived international expansion of the Troisgros name. The project lasted approximately three years, with ingredient sourcing cited as a significant operational challenge.
Packaged food and retail line
Troisgros branded food line
In the 1980s, Pierre Troisgros worked with Japan’s Odakyu department store to create a family-branded product line. It was initially distributed through five store locations and extended the Troisgros identity beyond restaurants.
Brand decisions
2023
César Troisgros assumes the flagship kitchenGeneration changeBackground
César had worked alongside his father at Le Bois sans feuilles after training in France and abroad.
Action taken
He became solely responsible for the restaurant’s kitchen while Michel moved out of direct culinary leadership.
Aftermath
The transition marked a formal handover of the family’s principal culinary role to the fourth generation.
2019
Closure of the Tokyo restaurantStrategyBackground
Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros had operated in Tokyo since 2006 and had received two Michelin stars.
Action taken
The family ended the restaurant’s operations in 2019.
Aftermath
The Troisgros group’s continuing principal activity remained centered on its French establishments.
2017
Relocation of the principal restaurant to OuchesStrategyBackground
The long-standing Roanne railway-station premises were considered too constrained for the family’s future expansion and for the involvement of the next generation.
Action taken
The family closed the Roanne flagship at the start of 2017 and opened Le Bois sans feuilles on a larger rural estate in Ouches.
Aftermath
The new site integrated dining, lodging, agricultural land and hospitality facilities, and became the principal Troisgros location.
Recent events
- 2023
César Troisgros assumes sole culinary responsibility at Le Bois sans feuilles[1]
Leadership change
The fourth generation became the principal culinary leadership at the family’s flagship Ouches restaurant.
- 2020
Pierre Troisgros dies at age 92[1]
Leadership change
Pierre Troisgros, one half of the celebrated Troisgros brothers, died near Roanne on 23 September 2020.
- 2019
Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros in Tokyo closes[1]
Other
The Tokyo restaurant, which had earned two Michelin stars, ended operations after its international run.
- 2017
Troisgros family opens Le Bois sans feuilles in Ouches[1]
Other · Product launch
The family moved its principal restaurant from the Roanne railway-station site to a purpose-built rural estate in Ouches.
- 2017
Michel Troisgros receives Chefs World Summit recognition[1]
Other
Michel Troisgros was named Chef of the Year by peers at the Chefs World Summit and appeared in the associated international chef ranking.
Sources2 sources
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