The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international gastronomic society, founded in Paris in 1950, traces its origins back to 1248. At that time, the French King Louis IX (later canonized as Saint Louis) wishing to thank the trades which had contributed to the construction of Sainte Chapelle, ordered the establishment of several professional guilds, one of which was the "Oyeurs" or goose roasters. The vocation of this guild was to improve the technical knowledge of its members: apprentices, tradesmen and masters. Over the decades its activities and privileges were expanded.
For more than four centuries the ‘Confrérie des Rôtisseur' cultivated and developed the culinary arts, meeting all the requirements of professionalism and quality demanded by the "Royal Table", until 1793 when the guild system was dissolved during the French Revolution. The Rôtisseurs were completely forgotten until 1950, when Dr. Auguste Bécart, the well-known journalists Jean Valby and Curnonsky (elected "Prince of the Gastronomes"), and chefs Louis Giraudon and Marcel Dorin revived the association and founded the "Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs".
By 1509, during the reign of Louis XII, when the guild's knowledge was extended to include the preparation of other meats and poultry, including game, it took the name "Rôtisseurs" (roasters). Then in 1610, under the reign of Louis XIII, it was granted a Royal Charter and a Coat of Arms.
