Oursin bleu biography

French film director and photographer

Jean Painlevé (20 November 1902 – 2 July 1989) was a French photographer and filmmaker who specialized in underwater fauna. He was the son of mathematician and twice prime minister of France Paul Painlevé.

Upbringing

A few days after Painlevé was born, his mother, Marguerite Petit de Villeneuve, died from complications arising from an infection contracted during childbirth. Painlevé, an only son, was raised by his father's sister Marie, a widow.

In the Lycée Louis Le Grand, he was a poor and inattentive student who preferred to skip classes and go to the Jardin d'Acclimatation where he was assisting the guard in taking care of the animals. Painlevé later wrote: "In high school, my classmates hated me. They hated people in the margins, such as Vigo, son of the anarchist Almereyda, or Pierre Merle, son of Eugène Merle [fr], director of [satirical weekly] Merle Blanc ("White Blackbird"). Me, I was the son of a Boche ("Kraut)", that Painlevé who had fought for Sarrail, solitary and unique republican general, and who had relieved [general] Nivelle of his duties to replace him with Pétain". He finished high school well apart "from these poor, unhappy ones who were like tradesmen in their trade". Among the few friends he made in his adolescence were future film critic Georges Altman, and writer and precious stones specialist Armand Moss (Moschowitz), who later appeared as an extra in Mathusalem.

Studies

Painlevé had to abandon his studies aimed at entering the École Polytechnique because he understood practically nothing of Mathematics. (He would subsequently state he wished that mathematics

As he says himself, Jérôme Schilling is a vineyard chef. Although born in Alsace, he feels most at home in Bommes, Gironde. He trained with Francis Dorn at Le Cerf, then with Hubert Maetz at Hostellerie du Rosenmeer in Rosheim. It was while helping Hubert Maetz with the Bocuse d'Or selections that he discovered the world of culinary competitions.

In 2001, he landed his first position at the Moulin de Mougins. "I sent in my CV and called 3 times. Two years later, RogerVergé closed his establishment and sent him to work for Joël Robuchon at the Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo.

Intrigued by molecular cuisine, Jérôme Schilling then joined Château Cordeillan-Bages to consolidate his knowledge of the subject with Thierry Marx and his second-in-command, Jean-Luc Rocha. While waiting for the restaurant to reopen, he spent the winter season at L'Oursin Bleu in Villefranche-sur-Mer, in the Alpes-Maritimes region, then joined Jean-Yves Schillinger's brigade in Colmar.

In 2009, his arrival at Guy Lassausaie's in Chasselay marked the start of a new adventure. "I wanted to go to Lyon to learn how to make the biblical dishes of French cuisine. By chance, my wife and I heard that he was looking for a sous-chef. Two months later, we were at his place." He stayed for six years, during which time he successfully took part in numerous competitions (Henri Huck trophy, Taittinger prize, Prosper Montagné competition).

Since 2015, Jérôme Schilling has been officiating at Lalique: first in Wingen-sur-Moder (Bas-Rhin) alongside Jean-Georges Klein, then at Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey, in Bommes (Gironde) since 2017. It was here that he won the Grand de Demain Gault&Millau 2018 trophy, as well as the Bocuse d'Argent France 2021 and the title of Meilleur ouvrier de France in 2022.

I. B.