# Pierre Franey > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pierre_Franey > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pierre_Franey.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Franey > Source revision: 1353762320 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|French-American chef (1921–1996)}} {{Infobox chef | name = Pierre Franey | image = Pierre Franey headshot.jpg | caption = Pierre Franey on the set of his TV show ''Cuisine Rapide'' | birth_date = {{birth date|1921|1|13}} | birth_place = Saint Vinnemer, [Yonne](/source/Yonne), France | death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|10|15|1921|1|13|df=yes}} | death_place = [Southampton](/source/Southampton), England | style = [French](/source/French_cooking) | television = Cuisine Rapide
Cooking in America
Cooking in France
Cooking in Europe | awards = James Beard Award for Best National Cooking Show in 1995 | website = {{URL|www.pierrefraney.com}} }} {{refimprove|date=July 2020}} '''Pierre Franey''' (January 13, 1921 – October 15, 1996) was a [French-born American](/source/French_Americans) chef, best known for his televised cooking shows and his "60 Minute Gourmet" column in ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)''.{{cite news |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |date=16 October 1996 |title=Pierre Franey, Whose Lifelong Love of Food Led to Career as Chef and Author, Dies at 75 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/16/nyregion/pierre-franey-whose-lifelong-love-food-led-career-chef-author-dies-75.html?scp=3&sq=pierre+franey&st=nyt&_r=0 |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |access-date=7 October 2016 }}{{Cite news |last=Franey |first=Pierre |date=1995-06-28 |title=With Picnic Blankets Unfurled; Feasts of July And Memories Of an Army Chef |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/28/garden/with-picnic-blankets-unfurled-feasts-of-july-and-memories-of-an-army-chef.html |access-date=2024-02-11 |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} == Early years == Franey grew up in northern Burgundy, France. As a young man, he was in the United States at the outbreak of [World War II](/source/World_War_II), cooking in the French Pavilion at the [1939 New York World's Fair](/source/1939_New_York_World's_Fair), and remained in New York rather than returning to [Occupied France](/source/Occupied_France). He turned down an offer to become the cook for [Douglas MacArthur](/source/Douglas_MacArthur). Franey served as a machine gunner in the U.S. Army. == ''Le Pavillon'' == After the war, [Henri Soulé](/source/Henri_Soul%C3%A9), who ran the French Pavilion's kitchen, re-opened [Le Pavillon](/source/Le_Pavillon_(Henri_Soul%C3%A9_restaurant)) in New York City, and Franey became executive chef in 1952. Franey, along with [Jacques Pépin](/source/Jacques_P%C3%A9pin), then an aspiring young cook on the staff of Le Pavillon, was hired in 1960 by the hotel and restaurant entrepreneur Howard Johnson, Sr., (a regular client at Le Pavillon) to revamp some of the [Howard Johnson's](/source/Howard_Johnson's) restaurant chain's recipes. The nine to five, week-day job allowed Pierre to spend more time with his family and collaborate with ''New York Times'' food writer [Craig Claiborne](/source/Craig_Claiborne) on weekends, often in East Hampton, NY, creating recipes for ''The New York Times'' as well as assisting with restaurant reviews. == ''60-Minute Gourmet'' and ''The New York Times'' == Over a twenty-year collaboration, Claiborne and Franey wrote weekly food articles, restaurant reviews and ''Sunday Magazine'' recipes for ''The Times'' and co-authored ten books. In 1975, Pierre moved on from Howard Johnson's to begin his own syndicated byline, “The 60 Minute Gourmet," for the new “Living" (now Dining) section of ''The New York Times''. His widely read column, which appeared in over 360 newspapers worldwide, led to a second column entitled “Kitchen Equipment," which also appeared in the ''Times''' Living section. Franey and Claiborne made international headlines in 1975 when Claiborne won a Public Television fundraiser sponsored by American Express for dinner for two with an unlimited budget at any restaurant in the world.{{cite news |last=Claiborne |first=Craig |date=14 November 1975 |title=Just a Quiet Dinner for Two in Paris: 31 Dishes, Nine Wines, a $4,000 Check |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0DE2D61E39E63BBC4C52DFB767838E669EDE&legacy=true |newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |access-date=7 October 2016 |url-access=subscription }} Choosing a "small but ruinously expensive" restaurant in Paris called Chez Denis,{{cite magazine |last=Chelminski |first=Rudy |date=24 November 1975 |title=He Can't Believe He Ate the Whole Thing! Craig Claiborne Flies to Paris for a 33-course, 4½ Hour, $4,000 Dinner |url=http://people.com/archive/he-cant-believe-he-ate-the-whole-thing-craig-claiborne-flies-to-paris-for-a-33-course-4%C2%BD-hour-4000-dinner-vol-4-no-21/ |magazine=[People](/source/People_(magazine)) |access-date=7 October 2016 |quote=Chez Denis is a small but ruinously expensive restaurant tucked away on Paris's Right Bank.}} the two ate and drank their way through thirty-one courses. The check for the single, four-hour meal totaled over $4,000 including taxes and tip, creating considerable controversy in the press. == Television shows == In 1989, Franey launched his national television career on public television with a cooking series titled ''Cuisine Rapide''. Quickly becoming a hit, the series led to a companion book of the same title, followed by additional shows including ''Cooking in America'' and ''Cooking in France'', which won the [James Beard Foundation Award](/source/James_Beard_Foundation_Award) for the best cooking show in 1995, and finally ''Cooking in Europe''. == Bibliography == In 1994, along with colleagues from ''The New York Times'', Richard Flaste and Bryan Miller, Franey wrote his memoir ''A Chef's Tale'', interweaving his personal story with his passion for food, memorable meals, and favorite recipes. Franey authored or co-authored an additional 15 cookbooks including ''The 'New' New York Times Cookbook'' and ''The 60-Minute Gourmet''. His final book, ''Pierre Franey Cooks With His Friends'', was co-written in 1996 with his eldest daughter, Claudia Franey Jensen, as a companion to his public television series ''Cooking in Europe''. The book was nominated for a [James Beard Foundation Award](/source/James_Beard_Foundation_Award) that year. *''A Chef's Tale (Memoir)'' *''60-Minute Gourmet'' *''More 60-Minute Gourmet'' *''Cooking with the 60-Minute Gourmet'' *''The New New York Times Cookbook'' *''Classic French Cooking - Foods of the World'' *''Veal Cookery - Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey'' *''The Seafood Cookbook - From Classic to Contemporary'' *''Pierre Franey's Kitchen'' *''Cooking with Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey'' *''Pierre Franey's Low-Calorie Gourmet'' *''Craig Claiborne's Gourmet Diet'' *''Cuisine Rapide'' *''Pierre Franey's Cooking in America'' *''Pierre Franey's Cooking in France'' *''Pierre Franey Cooks with his Friends'' == Awards and honors == Decorated several times by the French government, including the National Merite of France, Franey held an honorary doctorate from [Johnson & Wales University](/source/Johnson_%26_Wales_University), served on the boards of the [Culinary Institute of America](/source/Culinary_Institute_of_America) and Johnson & Wales University, and was a past president of The Vatel Club, a French food industry organization founded in 1913 in New York. He was honored by the [March of Dimes](/source/March_of_Dimes) in 1985 with a [Hirschfeld](/source/Al_Hirschfeld) caricature drawing for his extensive fundraising work for that organization. == Last years and legacy == Franey died in 1996 shortly after suffering a stroke while giving a shipboard cooking demonstration aboard the [Cunard](/source/Cunard) [ocean liner](/source/ocean_liner), ''[Queen Elizabeth 2](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_2)''. He is buried in [Green River Cemetery](/source/Green_River_Cemetery) in [Springs](/source/Springs%2C_New_York), [East Hampton](/source/East_Hampton_(town)%2C_New_York), on [Long Island](/source/Long_Island). He was survived by his wife, Betty, and three children, Claudia, Diane, and Jacques. Scholarships are bequeathed in his honor at [Johnson & Wales University](/source/Johnson_%26_Wales_University) in [Providence, Rhode Island](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island), and [The Culinary Institute of America](/source/The_Culinary_Institute_of_America) in [Hyde Park, New York](/source/Hyde_Park%2C_New_York). ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{sister project links|auto=y|d=y}} *{{URL|www.pierrefraney.com}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060716033215/http://www.goodbyemag.com/sep/franey.htm Goodbye mag profile] *[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/16/nyregion/pierre-franey-whose-lifelong-love-food-led-career-chef-author-dies-75.html?scp=3&sq=pierre+franey&st=nyt New York Times obituary] *[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30713F7355D137B93C6A8178AD95F418785F9&scp=1&sq=pierre%20franey%20chez%20denis&st=cse New York Times story about Paris dinner] *[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19810723&id=jrQRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2ekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6809,4231586=Pierre Franey article appearing in the 23-JUL-1981 Gainesville Sun, via the NYT News Service, giving insight to Franey's writing style and sharing his insight on an important Chef's tool that's little known outside of professional kitchens] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Franey, Pierre}} Category:1921 births Category:1996 deaths Category:American food writers Category:The New York Times journalists Category:French chefs Category:French emigrants to the United States Category:People from Yonne Category:People from Springs, New York Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers Category:Culinary Institute of America people Category:Burials at Green River Cemetery Category:20th-century chefs Category:20th-century food writers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pierre Franey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Franey) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Franey?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.