After completing his formal education and fighting to liberate France, Bocuse enrolled in a culinary apprenticeship in Pollionnay with chef Eugénie Brazier.

"[4] Bocuse made many contributions to French gastronomy both directly and indirectly, because he had numerous students, many of whom have become notable chefs themselves.

Bocuse received numerous awards throughout his career, including the medal of commandeur of the Légion d'honneur.

[12] Bocuse's main restaurant, L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, is a luxury establishment near Lyon, which has been serving a traditional menu for decades.

[broken anchor][13] However, it lost its record-breaking 55-year long 3-star rating in the 2020 Michelin Guide, sparking controversy in the French culinary world.

[15] Paul Bocuse's son, Jérôme, manages the "Les Chefs de France" restaurant which the elder Bocuse co-founded with Roger Vergé and Gaston Lenôtre and is located inside the French pavilion at Walt Disney World's EPCOT.

[21] Bocuse died of Parkinson's disease on 20 January 2018 at age 91 in Collonges-au-Mont-d'Or, north of Lyon, in the same room above his restaurant, L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges, in which he was born in 1926.

[1][22] His son Jérôme asked there not be a national tribute, stating it is not what his father would have wanted, remembering a "simple" man; President Emmanuel Macron recognised a "mythical figure" who represented "French gastronomy in its generosity, its respect for traditions but also its inventiveness".