Promoting the Culinary and Hospitality Arts and Enology through example, philanthropy and camaraderie

• As an amateur gastronome, share fine dining experiences with fellow members. Enjoy exceptional food and become a connoisseur of wines and crafted spirits. Be warmly welcomed at establishments that display the Chaine plaque.
• As a professional, challenge the skills of your culinary and service staffs as you demonstrate your expertise and creativity at events you host. Enjoy the patronage of knowledgeable gourmets and the camaraderie of your peers.

Celebrate the pleasures of the table as a member of an international gastronomic society that joins amateurs and professionals and fosters on values and traditions.

History of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs

It was in the year 1248, under Saint Louis, King of France, that the Royal Guild of Oyers Rôtisseurs was established. Limited at first to "masters" in the art of roasting geese, the object of the guild was to perpetuate the standards of quality befitting the Royal table. Soon the craft of "Rôtisseurs" encompassed the preparation of all the various meats and fowls destined to the spit or rack, and the activities of the Guild, always under Royal patronage, enlarged to include the development of an apprentice program, wage and work standards, and conferment of appropriate honors.

In 1509, the official Coat of Arms was awarded to the Guild by King Louis XII by Royal proclamation. The increasingly wealthy monopoly continued until 1776, when Louis XVI declared freedom of work laws in an effort to forestall the French Revolution. As his efforts were in vain, in 1791, the Chaîne was disbanded.

Gastronomically speaking, 160 years passed until three amateurs and two professionals met in Paris in 1950 with a common goal—to restore the pride in culinary excellence lost during a period of wartime shortages. La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs was reincorporated and the Coat of Arms of the ancient guild was restored by the French Government to which the year of incorporation of the modern Chaîne, 1950, was added. Among the founders were Jean Valby, Grand Chancelier, and Curnonsky, the justly renowned "Prince of Gastronomes".