Prosper Montagné

[3] Montagné was born Paul Marius Octave Prosper on 14 November 1865 in Carcassonne (Aude), in the south of France about 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Toulouse.

Hoping to steer his son in a different direction, Montagné's father placed him in an apprenticeship at the Hôtel d'Angleterre in Cauterets (Hautes-Pyrénées), in southwestern France, under one of the finest chefs of the period, Alphonse Meillon.

In 1920, he decided to open his own restaurant, Montagné Traiteur, rue de l'Echelle, Paris, which was frequented by le Tout-Paris, or the most celebrated artists, writers, gastronomes, and politicians of the day.

... His one aim was to maintain the culinary traditions that had made France so justly famous, and the result was obtained by the fact that he himself, with his universal reputation, was always to be found ... personally supervising every dish that was served.

As a young man..., he came to the conclusion that all pièces montées, as well as superfluous garnitures and decorations, should be discarded.Montagné was awarded the Knight of the Légion d'honneur, the highest French order of merit, in 1922.