Savoy-born Jean Sulpice became one of the France’s youngest Michelin-starred chef at 26 in Val Thorens. Since 2018 he has held two Michelin stars and a Green Star at L’Auberge du Père Bise on Lake Annecy, marrying high-altitude technique with lakeside sustainability.
Born in Aix-les-Bains in 1978, Sulpice grew up in the family inn and at sixteen apprenticed at Auberge Lamartine. A formative spell under Marc Veyrat in Megève taught him low-temperature extractions and foraged aromatics. In December 2002 he and sommelier-wife Magali opened L’Oxalys at 2 300 m in Val Thorens: modern alpine cuisine that earned its first Michelin star in 2006 and a second in 2010, making it Europe’s highest starred restaurant.
After 15 winters of reduced-pressure cooking, he bought the storied Auberge du Père Bise (est. 1903) in Talloires in 2016. Michelin restored the inn to stardom with two stars in 2018 for lake-and-mountain dishes—hay-glazed whitefish, spruce consommé, juniper-smoked trout. In 2020 he received the Green Star for a circular model: lake-water filtration, biodynamic garden “La Cuvée Verte” and up-cycled coffee grounds in pastry.
Sulpice calls his cuisine “an echo of the landscape”: every recipe springs from dialogue with perch fishers, Reblochon cheesemakers and high-altitude foragers. The on-site bistro Le 1903 revisits Marguerite Bise’s classics, while the 20-seat gastronomic room overlooks the lake with menus that shift like Alpine light.
Named Gault & Millau Chef of the Year 2018, he champions education projects: “Les Classes Vertes du Goût” teaches children lake biodiversity, and carbon-light cooking classes run with the Thonon Hospitality School. In 2024 he became coach of France’s junior Bocuse d’Or team, spreading his vision of responsible haute cuisine.
