Daniel Boulud is Chef-Owner of several award-winning restaurants and the Feast & Fêtes catering company. While he hails from outside Lyon, France, it is in New York that he has truly mastered the dining scene and is today considered one of America’s leading culinary authorities. Raised on his family’s farm in the village of Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu, the chef remains inspired by the rhythm of the seasons and menus driven by fine ingredients. Since arriving in the US in 1982, Boulud has become renowned for the contemporary appeal he adds to soulful cooking rooted in French tradition.
Daniel Boulud’s New York City restaurants include his flagship DANIEL (1993), Relais & Châteaux member; the elegant one-Michelin star Café Boulud (1998) with its adjacent cocktail bar, Bar Pleiades; his contemporary Parisian bistro, db bistro moderne (2001); two Upper West Side restaurants including the charcuterie-centric Bar Boulud (2008) and the Mediterranean-themed Boulud Sud (2011). DBGB Kitchen and Bar (2009), situated downtown on the corner of Bowery and Houston, is chef’s relaxed restaurant where the French brasserie meets the American Tavern. Épicerie Boulud (2011), with locations across from Lincoln Center, within The Plaza Food Hall and in the Oculus World Trade Center, is an eat-in and take-out market and café, with exquisite homemade and gourmet items from around the world.
Beyond Manhattan the chef has created Café Boulud in Palm Beach (2003) and db bistro moderne in downtown Miami, Florida (2010). Boulud has extended his culinary reach internationally with db bistro moderne at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (2010), Bar Boulud London (2010) at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Café Boulud at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (2012), and Maison Boulud at the Ritz-Carlton Montréal (2012). In spring 2014 the Chef returned to Las Vegas and opened db Brasserie in partnership with The Venetian® Las Vegas. Additionally, in September 2014 he opened a second DBGB Kitchen and Bar at downtown Washington D.C.’s CityCenterDC, and a third Bar Boulud, in Boston’s Mandarin Oriental on Boylston Street.
Boulud’s culinary accolades include James Beard Foundation awards for “Outstanding Restaurant,” “Outstanding Restaurateur,” “Best Chef, New York City” and “Outstanding Chef of the Year.” He has been named “Chef of the Year” by the Culinary Institute of America and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government. Restaurant DANIEL has been cited as “one of the ten best restaurants in the world” by the International Herald Tribune, has earned multiple Michelin stars and Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award”. In 2015 the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awarded Boulud the Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for his success as a restaurateur, businessman, and ‘chef who is revered as one of the world’s finest.’ Boulud’s culinary style is reflected in nine cookbooks, including the definitive DANIEL: My French Cuisine (Grand Central Publishing, 2013) and his most recent My Best: Daniel Boulud (Ducasse Books, 2014).
What was your most moving culinary experience?
It was last year -my best friend’s 60th birthday. We flew to New Zealand. It took us 24 hours to get there, three days there and back.But it was worth it: We cooked the most amazing langoustines from the deep sea, grilled them over a fire, and followed with a roasted leg of lamb, all with great wines. The meal was very humble and simple, but delicious.
The most amusing kitchen incident you ever witnessed?
One Halloween a practical joker arrived at the restaurant as a huge gorilla. He walked into the restaurant in a gorilla suit. We weren’t sure whether or not to serve him, but we did and after the first course he went home and changed.
Your best piece of advice for amateur chefs?
Try to cook a one pot meal: a stew, vegetables, a roast–some dish that has all the ingredients in it for the meal. That’s how I cook on Sunday.
- 3 Michelin stars
- Best Chef of New York City, James Beard Foundation,1992
- Outstanding Chef of the Year, James Beard Foundation, 1994,RestaurantDaniel
- Outstanding Restaurateur, James Beard Foundation,2006, RestaurantDaniel
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