Meet Paul Bocuse - the chef of the century

Seven men in white toques and long aprons bend to their tasks, one scooping hunks of butter into a saucepan simmering on a huge stove, another flicking grains of the ground French red pepper piment d'Espelette from a spoon onto a pyramid of crayfish, a third sprinkles parsley with his fingers.

"Seventeen minutes," one cries out.

"A little pepper," says another.

"Did you taste the brioche?" asks "Monsieur Paul."

It is minutes before the lunch hour in the heart of the temple of French gastronomy, the kitchen of Paul Bocuse.

The final touches of another three-star meal are executed with military precision.

Image: This Thursday, March 24, 2011 shows French Chef Paul Bocuse, center, as he tastes food prepared by assistants Gilles Reinhardt, left, and Christophe Mulle in the kitchen of his famed Michelin three-star restaurant L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges in Collonges-au-Mont-d'or, central France.

Text: AP

AP Images