Joseph VIOLA

The youngest of seven siblings, Joseph Viola has always enjoyed large family gatherings. His mother gave him a taste for cooking, and he decided to follow in her footsteps. at 16, he began his apprenticeship with René Rémy in La Bresse. This first boss gave him "a taste for work in a good atmosphere". With his diplomas (CAP cuisine and CAP pâtisserie) in hand, Joseph Viola began working as a commis for Michel Guérard, whom he remembers as " an extraordinary person, with a very sharp sense of taste and unrivalled precision ". He stayed at Eugénie Les Bains for five years, finishing as second chef.

Joseph Viola completed his training at Léon de Lyon, where he stayed for almost ten years, before setting off on his own.

A comforting cuisine full of emotion

In 2004, Joseph Viola was crowned MOF. A great source of pride, and a dream he had cherished since the start of his apprenticeship! At the same time, he and his wife Françoise bought the Daniel & Denise bouchon, a veritable institution in Lyon. The two of them brought a breath of modernity to the place, promoting bourgeois, generous cuisine that is " convivial but precise, and close to the people", insists the chef.

The menu features great classics such as pike quenelles, kidneys, salade lyonnaise and tarte Tatin with pink praline, not forgetting the famous pâté en croûte, which the chef is proud to have brought back to the forefront in 2009 (with the success we know today). also on the à la carte menu, five new suggestions are made every day, based on market produce. Sublimating the product, offering comforting dishes that will stay in the memory, this is what drives the chef.

Since opening in 2004, the restaurant's success has never waned, and it has expanded to include two other addresses in Lyon, as well as a grocery store in Villeurbanne, a wine cellar, and a brasserie franchise (Daniel & Denise en voyage) in Lyon Part Dieu.

Joseph and Françoise Viola can be proud of their success, and proud to have passed on their passion to their children, who have joined them in the adventure. "The story isn't over yet, and we're going to try and write a few more great chapters," promises the chef!

Key dates :

1965: born in Cornimont (Vosges)

1981: apprenticeship with René Rémy in La Bresse

1987: commis, then second chef at Prés d'Eugénie in Eugénie les Bains, with Michel Guérard

1994: head chef at Léon de Lyon, Lyon

2004: Meilleur Ouvrier de France

2004: buys Lyonnais bouchon Daniel & Denise

2012: Daniel & Denise Saint-Jean opens

2015: Opening of Daniel & Denise la Croix-Rousse

2017: Opening of Daniel & Denise grocery store in Villeurbanne