MANILA, Philippines - Who is the New York-based French chef whose Daniel restaurant is considered one of the 10 best restaurants in the world?
He was won several awards and the rare distinction of being named a Chevalier de la Legion de Honneur by the French government.
He was born on March 25, 1955 in Lyon, France. Raised in his family’s farm in the village of St. Pierre de Chandieu, he remains inspired by the rhythms of the seasons and the menus driven by fine ingredients.
At 15, he earned his first professional recognition as a finalist in France’s competition for Best Culinary Apprentice. He then worked in France with Roger Verge, Georges Blanc, and Michel Guerard, and later in Copenhagen before becoming a private chef to the European Commission in Washington, DC.
Moving to New York City, he opened the Polo Lounge at The Westbury Hotel, then La Regence at the Hotel Plaza Athenee. From 1986 to 1992, he was the executive chef of Le Cirque, during which the restaurant became one of the highest rated in the country. He received the James Beard Award for the Best Chef in New York City in 1992.
He then set out on his own, and opened his restaurant Daniel in 1993 first in Manhattan’s Upper East side, and later to a Venetian renaissance-inspired setting at Park Avenue and 65th Street.
Not long after its opening, Daniel was rated one of the Top 10 Restaurants in the World by the International Herald Tribune. He was named Chef of the Year by Bon Appetit, Gourmet Magazine’s Top Table Award, a four-star rating from the New York Times, Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, and New York City’s top ratings for cuisine, service, and decor in the Zagat Survey.
He was again recognized as Chef of the Year in 1994, and Outstanding Restaurateur in 2006 by the James Beard Foundation. And in 2010, Daniel was awarded three Michelin stars, the book’s highest rating. Today, apart from Daniels, he owns Feast and Fetes, a catering company, as well as other restaurants, such as the elegant Cafe Boulud with its adjacent new Bar Pleiades; DB Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, and most recently DBGB Kitchen and Bar. He has also restaurants in Florida, Beijing, Vancouver, London, and most recently at the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore.
His culinary style is revealed in his books as well as in After Hours, a high-definition TV series, which reveals where chefs go to unwind after a night behind the stove and uncovers the far out foods, which they crave for. He has also written six cookbooks: Cooking in 1993, The Cafe Boulud Cookbook in 1999, Cooking in New York City in 2002, Entertaining at Home with A Four-Star Chef, 2003, Letters to a Young Chef, 2003; and Braise, a Journey Through International Cuisine, 2006.
Apart from his work in the kitchen, he also supports several charities, focusing his efforts on hunger relief and culinary education. He has been an active member of the board of directors of Citymeals-on-Wheels, a non-profit organization that provides home-delivered nutritious meals to frail, homebound elderly in New York City since 2003, and hosts an annual gala for the charity each spring. He also has an endowment fund established by his business partner Joel Smilow in 2005 to provide continuing education enabling promising young American cooks to pursue professional culinary studies in France.
In April 2007, he received the Culinary Humanitarian Award from the Adopt a Minefield Foundation at the United Nations; and in 2006, the President of France made him a Chevalier de la Legion de Honneur in recognition for his contribution to French culture.
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Last week’s question: Who is the London-born Milan based designer who is regarded by masters of design as the wunderkind of contemporary architecture, and who has worked with internationally renowned companies like Artemide, Canon, LG, Muji, Olivetti, Thonet and Whirlpool?
Answer: James Irvine
Winner: Ameline Guevarra of Caloocan City