Alfred Prunier

Who was Alfred Prunier?

Alfred Prunier was a French chef and restaurant owner.

In 1872, Prunier and his wife, Catherine, opened a Parisian restaurant that bore his name in the French capital His restaurant, specialized in seafood and grilled entrées. The quality of the cuisine, the service, and the interior decor quickly made the restaurant a success. Famous writers such as Oscar Wilde, actors such as Sarah Bernhardt, politicians such as Clemenceau, and aristocrats including Russian royalty were regularly seen there.

Prunier's son, Émile, opened another Prunier restaurant on the avenue Victor Hugo in Paris in 1924, which attracted writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. After his death in 1925, his daughter, Simone, took up the business and opened a third restaurant in London. The second restaurant still operates, but the London restaurant closed in 1976.