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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Jean-Claude Poilevey of Oak Park, who
4passed away on April 9, 2016; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Jean-Claude Poilevey was born in the Burgundy
6region of France on February 10, 1945; he began training at 14
7years old in a small restaurant near the Jura Mountains, an
8area close to Switzerland; in the mid-1960s, after serving as a
9cook in the French Army, he moved to London and worked for
10three years at The Colony Club and Cafe Royale; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1968, Jean-Claude Poilevey and several other
12French chefs working in London, including the late Chef Jean
13Banchet, were recruited to work for Hugh Heffner at the Playboy
14Club in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Jean-Claude Poilevey moved to Chicago, and in
161973, along with a few friends, opened a restaurant, La
17Fontaine; in 1988, he bought out his partners and continued to
18run the business until he sold it in 1993; over its 20-year
19run, many chefs were trained there, some who went on to open
20their own successful restaurants; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 1993, Jean-Claude Poilevey and his wife,

 

 

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1Susanne, opened Le Buochon, a small 40-seat bistro in Bucktown;
2in 1998, they opened another restaurant, La Sardine, in the
3West Loop area of Chicago; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Jean-Claude Poilevey was a traditionalist in
5French cuisine, with a good-natured tableside manner; he was
6considered a unifier in both the French culinary community and
7the French expat community in Chicago; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Jean-Claude Poilevey is survived by his wife,
9Susanne, and his three sons, Oliver, Nicolas, and Henri;
10therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
13Jean-Claude Poilevey, and extend our sincere condolences to his
14family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of Jean-Claude Poilevey as an
18expression of our deepest sympathy.