Benoît Violier was a teacher of the culinary arts, master chef, and recipient of the three star michelin award for Le restaurant de l'Hôtel de ville de Crissier, a high-class restaurant he managed with his wife, Brigitte Marion Violier.

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In 2013, he was named chef of the year by the Gault & Millau guide.

^[0]He had worked at Le restaurant de l'Hôtel de ville de Crissier since 1996, and in 2012 he took over.

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In the culinary arts the prestigious Michelin guide releases its ratings each year, which determines the value of top ranking restaurants around the world, consisting mostly of European and American restaurants (New York and California are usually the only two states with enough flavor to participate.) ^[2]

On February 2nd, 2016, Michelin announced its new ratings, a day after Benoît Violier took his own life by shooting himself multiple times.

^[4] Officials have not yet confirmed the verdict that it was suicide.

^[13]This sparks once again a reality of the immense pressure chefs have in regards to the ranking system imposed by French high-culture.

"The loss of a star can prove to be ground-shaking for a restaurant and its chef, but Violier retained his coveted top-of-the-scale three-star rating, considered one of the highest honors in the restaurant business."

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Violier was truly a perfectionist, and was supposed to attend the Michelin ratings ceremony, but his fate had other plans.

Plans perhaps influenced by the urgency of an industry who coerces chefs to transform into high-level, profit-making businessmen alienated from their culinary art, causing major psychological strain.

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