Another Chef (Pierre Jaubert) Takes His Life

robert brown · December 6, 2003

Gastronomie.com reported today that the two-star Michelin chef Pierre Jaubert committed suicide at age 49. He was the owner-chef of the Hotel Bordeaux in Pons (Charante-Maritime). It's a name new to me. Has anyone heard of him or dined on his cuisine? There were no details or speculation as to why he took his life. Can anyone add more information? It's a tough racket.

menton1 · December 7, 2003

Robert, the only thing I can add is that, according to the latest Guide Rouge, this place is a 2-fork, not a 2-star Michelin! The Hotel is quite a modest place as well, a "Logis de France" member, an unlikely setting for a Michelin-starred retaurant. This may account for the lack of information about (and interest in) this unfortunate occurrence.

There does seem to be a tiny article on 4 December in the Bordeaux newspaper, Journal Sud-Ouest, but it is a 3€ article and only 128 words...

Pons is a nice little town between La Rochelle and Bordeaux, a place where the always-mystifying Académie Francaise wants you to pronounce the final "s" in the name! (As in Gers, Reims, etc.)

robert brown · December 7, 2003

Those schmucks at Gastronomie.com!!!. It says after the name of the restaurant in parentheses "2 etoiles Michelin". Thanks for the correction, Menton1

cjs · December 7, 2003

but not that tough!

lucid · December 8, 2003

Regardless of his stars the tragedy is that he took his life.

GG Mora · December 8, 2003

a place where the always-mystifying Académie Francaise wants you to pronounce the final "s" in the name! (As in Gers, Reims, etc.)

And Gigondas. Always chaps my ass when some snotty staff corrects me. "You mean 'zhee-gon-DAH'". No, actually.

Pity about Mssr. Jaubert. Perhaps the suicide had nothing to do with his being a chef?

robert brown · December 8, 2003

And guess what. Michel Bras and his fellow Aubracians want you to pronounce final "s" as well

menton1 · December 8, 2003

Well, the silent "s" fans still have Paris, Calais, Georges, Beaujolais, etc....

Peter Rodgers · December 8, 2003

Never would have guessed that Michel Bras was Michel Brasss... I find myself wondering how many time I must have mispronounced his name to his face or to the Madame's on our various visits to Laguiole (also a name easy to mispronounce).

Bill Klapp · December 8, 2003

Absolutely no disrespect intended toward the departed, or any implication of him in what I am about to say. However, is anyone aware of the rampant drug use (particularly cocaine and speed) that goes on in professional kitchens worldwide? A friend in the commercial bread baking and distribution business told me that it is rare to go into a high-end restaurant kitchen and not sense drug use. No, I cannot offer proof, and yes, I realize that it is not true of every kitchen. But it does say something about the stress, long hours and pressure to perform in the restaurant biz.

GG Mora · December 8, 2003

I think Bourdain already made that abundantly clear in KC.

Still, the linking of his suicide to his being a chef is a little too knee-jerk.

menton1 · December 8, 2003

However, is anyone aware of the rampant drug use (particularly cocaine and speed) that goes on in professional kitchens worldwide?

Unfortunately, Bill, I think that this rampant use goes on in most industries and all forms of living today. To single out food preparation is unfair. And, unknowing of the circumstances of this poor fellow's demise, we should not assume anything...

Drug use is a problem endemic in all of modern society, and I don't think we can say that it is more pervasive in the food industry than other industries.. There are countless occupations that are very stressful....

Edited December 8, 2003 by menton1 (log)

Bux · December 8, 2003

I think Bourdain already made that abundantly clear in KC.

No disresepct to Bourdain, but did you feel he was writing about high end places or that his book reflected life in the kitchens of starred restaurants in France?

Bux · December 8, 2003

I've never heard a Frenchman pronounce the "s" in Michel Bras' name.

GG Mora · December 9, 2003

I think Bourdain already made that abundantly clear in KC.
No disresepct to Bourdain, but did you feel he was writing about high end places or that his book reflected life in the kitchens of starred restaurants in France?

No, but neither did I think Mr. Klapp was making a suggestion specifically about high-end or starred French joints.

My point, however, is that I think it's on the glib side to assume Mssr. Jaubert's suicide is necessarily linked to his being a chef. But this wouldn't be the first time I'd been proven a jackass by the facts.

My guess is, it'd take a whole lot more than that to dis Bourdain.

Edited for assinine spelling error. I just hope I spelled assinine correctly. :whince:

Edited December 9, 2003 by GG Mora (log)

Bux · December 9, 2003

I think Bourdain already made that abundantly clear in KC.
No disresepct to Bourdain, but did you feel he was writing about high end places or that his book reflected life in the kitchens of starred restaurants in France?
No, but neither did I think Mr. Klapp was making a suggestion specifically about high-end or starred French joints.

Bill said: "A friend in the commercial bread baking and distribution business told me that it is rare to go into a high-end restaurant kitchen and not sense drug use." I'm a literal guy.

I meant it when I said "no disrespect to Bourdain." The problems are not with what he's written, which I believe are quite accurate and well written, but in the way other people apply what he's written to situations he wasn't describing. Then again I've also been wrong, more often than I'd like you to know about.

I think it's safe to assume any chef's job is a high stress job, but agree with you that it doesn't prove a chef's suicide is even likely related to his work.

From one notoriously bad speller to another, it's "wince," by the way. :biggrin:

robert brown · December 9, 2003

Bux, that's because you spend too much time in Paris. I think I told you about the time I was discussing with Michel Bras' sister about the pronoumciation of the his name. She said to me, "Ici, on pronounce tous les 's' ".

Bux · December 9, 2003

Bux, that's because you spend too much time in Paris. I think I told you about the time I was discussing with Michel Bras' sister about the pronoumciation of the his name. She said to me, "Ici, on pronounce tous les 's' ".

The town of Rodez not far south of Laguiole is pronounded by the natives with the final "z" sound. I wonder if TV reporters or interviewers pronounce Michel Bras' name correctly, or it Bras corrects them when they're wrong. In fact most Frenchmen pronounce a lot of names incorrectly, assuming the local pronounciation is the correct one.

GG Mora · December 9, 2003

From one notoriously bad speller to another, it's "wince," by the way.

Hmmm, guess I got a little whine mixed in whith my wince. :wha??:

menton1 · December 9, 2003

The town of Rodez not far south of Laguiole is pronounded by the natives with the final "z" sound. I wonder if TV reporters or interviewers pronounce Michel Bras' name correctly, or it Bras corrects them when they're wrong. In fact most Frenchmen pronounce a lot of names incorrectly, assuming the local pronounciation is the correct one.

The village of Riez, in the Alpes de Haute Provence, is pronounced with the final "z" as well; Vallauris near Cannes is pronounced with the final "s" sound-- a complete opposite to the way they say Paris, which is indisputable.

The most puzzling pronunciation I've encountered is that of Cassis, a town a lot like Villefranche (dreamy) but 140 miles further west near Marseille. When I stayed there in 2002, I asked about 20 locals how to pronounce the name Cassis. About half said the "s' was silent, the other half said to pronounce the "s". What to do??!!

Edited December 9, 2003 by menton1 (log)

Bill Klapp · December 10, 2003

Menton 1, I did not feel that I was unfairly "singling out" the restaurant profession, but I'll stick to my story. In some professions (medicine, modeling, acting and rock music come to mind), like the restaurant biz, drugs are easy to come by and an unavoidable temptation for many. In other high-stress professions such as mine (corporate law), drug abuse exists, but one cannot function for long under the influence without being discovered!

Louisa Chu · December 10, 2003

Bill, if only - if only drugs were easy to come by - and if we could afford them - and if we could function on them. At ADPA our drugs of choice are just double espressos and cigarettes - the former of which I'll have three tomorrow and Friday - double shifts - lunch and dinner.

Bux · December 11, 2003

I've been told one cannot function for long under the influence in a three star restaurant. The performance level demanded is just too great. If you know something I don't, well that's another story.

menton1 · December 11, 2003

Menton 1, I did not feel that I was unfairly "singling out" the restaurant profession, but I'll stick to my story. In some professions (medicine, modeling, acting and rock music come to mind), like the restaurant biz, drugs are easy to come by and an unavoidable temptation for many. In other high-stress professions such as mine (corporate law), drug abuse exists, but one cannot function for long under the influence without being discovered!

Bill, I also stick by my statement that drug abuse is pervasive in all professions, all walks of life today. Not to mention prescription drug abuse as well (did someone say Rush Limbaugh?)

You would also be surprised how these users can cover themselves up and be "on" for periods of time when they are exposed to public view;

I also know many attorneys and have heard many stories of high-powered advocates closing the door to their office and indulging, and then going right to court!!

For all we know, this poor fellow in Pons may have found his wife cheating!!

John Whiting · December 12, 2003

Re pronunciation: Countries which contain sizeable linguistic groups which have been forcibly united (not counting those merely swallowed into anonymity) usually have spelling and pronunciational variations from area to area. England and France are particularly good examples. In the south of France the “langue d’oc” (i.e. the language that says “oc” instead of “oui”) still has a strong influence, with bilingual signs in many towns. Such conflicting usage was a primary motive is establishing the Acadamie to make the French language consistent. Such an institution in Germany, where every word can be accurately transcribed merely from its Hochdeutsch pronunciation, would have been superfluous.

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