Test your design IQ
MANILA, Philippines - Who is the celebrated master chef and hospitality entrepreneur who has received critical acclaim for his signature Progressive American cuisine, a style that reinterprets classic European cooking using American artisanal products and small farm producers?
Born and raised in upstate New York and classically trained at the Culinary Institute of America, he first burst into the New York dining scene in the 1980s when he was named executive chef of the River Cafe. He soon earned three stars from the prestigious New York Times. It was also at River Cafe where he hired, trained, and inspired a legion of young cooks who have gone on to become some of America’s leading chefs — Diane Forley of Verbena in New York and Michael Mina of Aqua in San Francisco.
At the young age of 28, he opened Aureole restaurant as chef and proprietor. It was there that his signature style began to emerge. “I realized that American cuisine was just in its infancy and I spent a lot of time thinking about what the idea of American cooking really meant to me as a chef,” he says. “My experience growing up on a farm and my time spent at Georges Blanc in France, where one artisanal producer would bring all of his perfectly made goat cheese to the doorstep of our kitchen, had a strong impact on me. So, I began my research on small American producers and supported them in an effort to use the best raw products available at Aureole — it was inspired by creative juices and helped mold my style.”
Since that time, he has combined his creative cooking spirit with his flair for business to establish an impressive roster of restaurants across the country, including Aureole and Metrazur in New York City, Aureole at Mandalay Bay Resort, and a self-named steak place at Four Seasons Las Vegas; and Dry Creek Kitchen in Sonoma, California.
One of his newest properties is Kitchen 22, an intimate neighborhood restaurant in the Flatiron section of New York City; Astra, a cafe by day and impressive catering location during nights and weekends. He also has a line of specialty food products like sauces.
Even today, he still steps in the kitchen with reinvention in mind. “Without a doubt, people eat with their eye long before they put fork to food, so I continue to look for a playful yet respectful way to create excitement on the plate,” he says.
A frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, he is also the author of four cookbooks: Great American Food, Casual Cooking, The Art of Aureole, and A Practical Guide to the American Kitchen.
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Last week’s question: Who is the Egyptian-English industrial designer who has created over 3,000 designs for interiors, fashion furniture, lighting, art, and music?
Answer: Karim Rashid
Winner: Marilou Cortez, Pasig City
Text your answer to 0905-3142614 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1950, 634-1943. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
