Antoine Westermann

On September 2021, Le Coq Rico became Le Coq & Fils - The Poultry House

In August 2018, he was suddenly dismissed from office by his partner.

From 2012 on, Westermann focused on his passion for poultry. He has since stated desire to develop his vision of eating meat well, believing that quality poultry must be farmed responsibly. By working hand-in-hand with local farmers and ensuring complete transparency in the sourcing process, Westermann hopes to expand the market for ethical meat production throughout France and the United States.

He held 3 Michelin Guide stars for his Strasbourg restaurant Le Buerehiesel and maintained a star rating at the restaurant for over 31 years until 2007, when he asked the Michelin Guide to remove them.

In 2007, Westermann gave up his 3 stars to turn to new culinary adventures. His son, Eric Westermann took over Le Buerehiesel and won 1 Michelin star in 2008.

In 2006, Westermann overtook operations at Paris's historic Drouant, where the deliberations for the Goncourt and Renaudot prizes have taken place since 1914. Westermann sold Drouant to restaurateurs Gardinier & Fils in 2018.

In homage to his mother's cuisine, Westermann opened the vegetable-centric bistro Mon Vieil Ami (meaning "My Old Friend") in 2003. The restaurant became the first table d'hôte in Paris, an otherwise traditional Alsatian format that ran until its closing in 2017.

From 1998 to 2006 Westermann oversaw the kitchen operations at Fortaleza do Guincho in Cascais, Portugal, alongside executive chef Vincent Farges. The restaurant has retained one Michelin star since 2001.

In 1994, 25 years after its opening, Le Buerehiesel was awarded both a 3-star Michelin ranking and a 19/20 rating in the "Gault & Millau Guide" while Westermann was named one of France's top chefs along with Joël Robuchon, Michel Bras, Guy Savoy and Alain Ducasse.

Westermann remained head chef and proprietor of Le Buerehiesel for 38 years. Located in a traditional 17th-century Alsatian building, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star in 1975, followed by a second star in 1983.

In 1969, after Westermann earned his professional diploma, his father took out a mortgage on the historic family home to purchase a small farmhouse in the middle of Strasbourg's Parc de l'Orangerie for Westermann, then 23, to turn into a restaurant. That spot became Le Buerehiesel, the Alsatian dialect meaning for "little farmhouse".

Antoine Westermann is a French chef born in 1949 in the Alsatian town of Wissembourg, on the northeast border of France.