Jean Sulpice works where he feels most at home: on the shores of Lake Annecy, in that subtle in-between space where water meets alpine nature.
Early on, Jean Sulpice understood that his apprenticeship would come less from formal schooling than from the intensity of the kitchen. What attracted him was not the ease of the technique, but rather its demanding nature. At Auberge Lamartine, working alongside chefs Jean and Pierre Martin, he discovered his first foundation: rigor, respect for the ingredients, and attention to every detail. A solid base, but still rooted in a cuisine of execution.
In 1998, joining Marc Veyrat’s brigade at La Maison Bleue, then located on the shores of Lake Annecy, marked a decisive turning point. The level of skill was striking. Everything had to be reinvented. It was no longer about reproducing a recipe, but about understanding the surrounding environment, interpreting a landscape, a plant, a sensation. There, Jean Sulpice learned to imagine cuisine, to conceive of a dish as a language capable of evoking emotion from a single element, sometimes seemingly modest. This journey continued elsewhere, without ever diluting this exacting standard. A stint in Brittany, then the capital. In Paris, with Pierre Gagnaire, he discovered cuisine as an art, or rather, cuisines as works of art and creations, born from the imagination of great chefs. In Provence, with Edouard Loubet, he deepened his understanding of a cuisine sensitive to vegetables and the land. Little by little, Jean Sulpice was no longer content simply to do things well. He sought to express something. To create, to share, to strike the right note. It was there that passion definitively took precedence over everything else.
Jean Sulpice
Late 1990s
Learning to cook, meeting his wife Magali
2002
At 24, Jean settles at L’Oxalys with Magali
2006
First Michelin star at L’Oxalys
2010
Second Michelin star at L’Oxalys
2017
Jean and Magali move to L’Auberge du Père Bise
2017
2018 Chef of the Year by Gault & Millau
2018
Two Michelin stars at L’Auberge du Père Bise
2019
Knight of the National Order of Merit
2020
Green Michelin Star at L’Auberge du Père Bise
At 23, Jean Sulpice and his wife, Magali Sulpice, opened their first restaurant at an altitude of 2,300 meters in Val Thorens. At L’Oxalys, the undertaking was audacious. Establishing a fine dining experience at this altitude was less a calculated move than a conviction. Here, everything had to be invented. The setting made things challenging, but it also demanded a certain authenticity. It was in this radical environment that Jean truly began to forge his own culinary identity. Far removed from direct influences, he found himself facing a nearly blank canvas. It was no longer about interpreting the worlds of others, but about finding his own voice. The omnipresent alpine landscape imposed its rhythm, its short seasons, its silences. It sharpened his vision, pushed him towards the essentials, and inspired a cuisine that was clear, committed, and straightforward.
In Val Thorens, creation became a daily learning experience. Each course is a quest for balance, each dish an attempt at coherence between taste, place, and moment. This period profoundly shaped his approach: a cuisine conceived as a journey, nourished by effort, attention, and respect for all living things. It was there, at altitude, that Jean Sulpice definitively ceased to reproduce and began to imagine. A foundational stage, where gastronomy takes on the dimension of an intimate experience, deeply connected to the land that gave it birth.
Born in Savoy, Jean Sulpice grew up surrounded by lakes, forests, and mountains. Alpine nature is not an idealized backdrop, but a living environment, sometimes welcoming, sometimes indifferent. It imposes its own rhythm, its own limits, its own surprises.
This relationship profoundly shapes his cuisine. The seasons are experienced, not artificially anticipated. What happens, happens. What disappears leaves a trace. This sensitive approach nourishes a cuisine that seeks precision above all, attentive to balance, textures, and nuances. A cuisine that tells the story of a region without ever freezing it in time.
Sport plays a vital role in Jean Sulpice’s life. Ski mountaineering, cycling, hiking: all these are ways for him to physically connect with the landscape. Effort, duration, and concentration are part of his daily routine. These activities are not separate from cooking; they are intertwined with it. A taste for commitment, an acceptance of the unexpected, and precision of movement are all found behind the stove. Challenges attract him because they require him to remain present, to adapt, and to never consider the established as definitive.
“Climbing a mountain pass, riding fast along the slopes, hiking through alpine meadows or forests, sailing on the lake… Nature takes on meaning through the direct and sincere relationship I build with it. My cooking is the expression of this intimate bond that inspires me every day.”
Taking over the Auberge du Père Bise with his wife, Magali Sulpice, marks a pivotal moment. This century-old house, nestled on the shores of Lake Annecy, carries a rich history, a living memory that is not to be transformed, but rather extended. The place commands attention. The water, the light, the surrounding Alpine landscape remind us daily that cuisine cannot be conceived outside of its setting.
Here, Jean Sulpice refines an exceptional gastronomic cuisine, faithful to this region and its rhythm. A cuisine built over time, nourished by daily work, constant questioning, and meticulous attention to detail. This unwavering commitment has finally been recognized. In 2017, Gault & Millau named him Chef of the Year. In 2018, the Michelin Guide awarded him two stars. In 2019, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit. Important milestones, received with restraint, never diverting attention from what truly matters. For Jean Sulpice, cooking here goes far beyond the notion of work. It’s a way of inhabiting a place, of engaging with the living world, of conveying emotions. Moving forward, service after service, in harmony with the lake, the alpine landscape, and the passage of time. Here, Jean Sulpice savors every moment spent behind the stove, practicing his passion and “the most beautiful profession in the world,” in the incredible setting of the Auberge du Père Bise, on the shores of Lake Annecy, which for him is “the most beautiful place in the world.”
