Test your design IQ

MANILA, Philippines - Who is the New York-based British chef best known for his Michelin star restaurant Corton and whose clients include Lord Rothschild and Prince Andrew?

He was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in August 1976, and was raised in London, England. As a teenager growing up in London, he worked for some of the world’s most esteemed restaurants and chefs including Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc, and Richard Neat.

He traces his turning point from cook to chef to a life-changing year he spent working under the brilliant Pierre Gagnaire at his eponymous three-star restaurant in Paris, France.

Following that, he moved to New York City in 1999, where he worked briefly for David Bouley at Bouley Bakery.

In 2000, he first became a chef in his own right at Atlas restaurant on Central Park South.  In November of that same year, at the age of 24, he earned the distinction of being the youngest chef ever awarded three stars by the New York Times for unforgettable and hyper modern dishes such as, “eels, violets, and chocolates, espuma of calf brains and foie gras and beer and truffle soup.”

Critic William Grimes has praised his “daring, distinctive style” likening him to “a pianist who seems to have found a couple of extra dozen keys.”

After leaving Atlas, he cooked at Papillon, then for numerous high profile clients including Lord Rothschild and Prince Andrew.  He continued to hone his style before opening Corton in 2008.

As in all his restaurants, he melds the tradition of classical cuisine with a contemporary approach to ingredients and technique and a uniquely graphic visual style in Corton.

The restaurant has been honored with two Michelin stars, three stars by the New York Times and was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in 2009.  Most recently, Corton was nominated as Best New Restaurant in the United Sates by the James Beard Foundation.

The chef himself has received wide acclaim with profiles in Vogue and W Magazine. He has received several awards like the New York Times’ Youngest Three Star Chef in 2000, Esquire magazine’s The Best and the Brightest in 2002, and Best New Chef by Food and Wine in 2009.

He is also the subject of a documentary film, A Matter of Taste, directed by Sally Rowe, the film follows him over a decade and reveals his creative process in the kitchen, as well as the extreme hard work, long hours, and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine in New York City.

Exploring the complicated relationships between food critics, chefs and restaurant owners, the film delves into the life of an uncompromising, thought provoking young chef ahead of his time the film was nominated for an Emmy for Best Cultural Programming in 2012.

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Last week’s question: Who is the German born, Milan based industrial designer who is considered one of the most important designers of his generations with designs like the ThinkPad laptop for IBM and the Tizio lamp for Italy’s Artemide?

Answer: Richard Sapper

Winner: Ester B. Mendoza of Los Baños, Laguna