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More than sixty years ago Marie Lorain wrote the first chapter in the history of La Côte Saint Jacques when she opened a family pension in a large bourgeois house in Joigny. The clients appreciated the fine family cooking, the typically Burgundian conviviality, and the warm hospitality.
Michel Lorain was born in 1934. The youngest of Marie Lorain's four children, he became an apprenticed to a confectioner at an early age. He then turned towards cooking and in 1958 took over the reins of the restaurant-hotel.
With the help of his wife Jacqueline, he turned this modest inn into one of the finest tables in France and one of its most likable and luxurious Relais & Châteaux. |
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 In 1966, the opening of the Autoroute du Sud, by diverting Parisian and provincial motorists from National Highway 6, took travelling customers away from the businesses lining that legendary highway. Michel Lorain decided to react. He set about creating food that warranted a detour to Joigny! Jacqueline Lorain became an established sommelier, respected by everyone in the profession, which at the time was reserved for men.
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In 1971, Michel Lorain was rewarded. He earned his first star in the Michelin Red Guide, and in 1976 earned another.
A year later, La Côte Saint-Jacques joined the prestigious Relais & Châteaux chain, and Gault-Millau awarded it three red toques. |
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Assisted by his son Jean-Michel, back from his long training with some highly talented chefs (Troisgros in Roanne, Taillevent in Paris, Girardet in Lausanne), Michel Lorain constantly improved the quality of his establishment.
 In 1986, he won all the top awards. With four red toques in Gault-Millau, Michel and Jean-Michel Lorain were elected Chefs of the Year. At the same time, the Michelin Red Guide awarded the third star to these exceptional chefs.
Little by little, Jean-Michel Lorain took over. Creative and innovative, he establishes his own personal style of cooking. In 1993 he was proclaimed Chef of the Year and received a score of 19.5 in Gault-Millau.
Michel Lorain put him in charge of La Côte Saint-Jacques and throws himself enthusiastically and energetically into another venture. |
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Having decided to revive the Joigny Burgundy vineyard and in particular the famous Vin Gris or "Vin des Roses" served at Versailles at the Court of Louis XIV, Michel Lorain buys up exposed some fallow land atop the city's hillsides. He established the Michel Lorain SCEV, an association of co-owners, and planted ten hectares of vines in various varieties: Chardonnay, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon et Tressot.
In 1994, Michel Lorain SCEV began marketing its first bottles of White Burgundy. Then came the Pinot Noir, and finally the Vin Gris Tradition.
Michel Lorain, man of action and passion, had realized his dream: to become a winegrower. His dream is also to succeed in his new venture in the wines of this fine vineyard overlooking Joigny and the Yonne as he did at La Côte Saint Jacques. A dynamic entrepreneur always eager to reach his goal, Michel Lorain would like to win the long marathon with his new team, running the 100 meters at the speed of champions!
In 2005, lovers of fine French cuisine from around the world continued to arrive at Joigny to taste the inventive, refined cooking of Jean-Michel Lorain, with his three Michelin stars, and be charmed by the attentive welcome from Brigitte Lorain.
And many lovers of good wine also come to Les Clos des Capucins to discover the Burgundies of Michel Lorain SCEV. Stepping down into the 16th century cellar located in the very heart of historic Joigny, they taste the four wines of Michel Lorain SCEV: Chardonnay, Red Burgundy, Crémant de Bourgogne and Vin Gris Tradition.
The fourth generation is now getting ready to take over the reins. The Lorain saga will certainly find a talented successor among the four great-grandchildren of Marie Lorain to write a new chapter in this delightful family history.
Good food and good wine, that's Paradise on Earth!
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