posted on April 21, 2011 18:18
Daniel Boulud's desire to meld unexpected ingredients and create dishes you won't see on any other menu make for one of Manhattan's most exquisite eating-out experiences. Daniel also owns Feast & France Catering Company. However today he is considered one of America's leading culinary authorities.
Daniel was raised on his family's farm in the village of St Pierre de Chandieu and he is inspired by rhythm of the seasons and menus driven by fine ingredients. Since arriving in US in 1982, nothing is beyond the Frenchman's imagination. Today his restaurant empire is blossoming, with opening across the world, but for a true taste of the Lyonnaise lion, to Manhattan you must go. Daniel's New York City Restaurant Daniel is a three Michelin star Relais & Chateax member.
While raised on a farm outside of Lyon and trained by renowned French chefs, Boulud made his reputation in New York, first as a chef and most recently a restaurateur. His management company, The Dinex Group, currently includes six restaurants and Feast & Fêtes Catering. His restaurants include Daniel, Café Boulud, DB Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, and DBGB Kitchen & Bar in New York City. He has also created Café Boulud in Palm Beach and the Michelin-star Daniel Boulud Brasserie in Las Vegas (since closed)
Boulud set out on his own and opened his restaurant Daniel, in 1993, in Manhattan's Upper Eastside. Daniel relocated the restaurant to a new home in 1998: a Venetian renaissance-inspired setting at Park Avenue and 65th Street—premises, in fact, that had once housed Le Cirque. The original Daniel was re-launched as the Café Boulud.
He opened a more casual restaurant in the theater district of Manhattan in 2001: db Bistro Moderne, and in 2003 a second Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida. Daniel Boulud Brasserie opened in 2005 inside the Wynn Las Vegas. In January 2008, the Chef opened Bar Boulud, a French bistro located across from Lincoln Center in New York City.
He opened Maison Boulud à Pékin in Beijing China in July 2008. In December 2008, he reopened Lumière and opened db Bistro Moderne (sister restaurant to db Bistro Moderne in Manhattan) in Vancouver, Canada as Chef, Consulting Chef and Partner, and will open DBGB Kitchen & Bar, a Pan-European brasserie, in New York City later in 2009.
Awards
Not long after opening, restaurant Daniel was rated one of the top ten restaurants in the world by the International Herald Tribune. He was named Chef of the Year by Bon Appétit, and Daniel received Gourmet'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.
Boulud received the James Beard Award for Best Chef of New York City in 1992 while Executive Chef at Le Cirque. The James Beard Foundation would again recognize Chef Daniel Boulud with “Outstanding Chef of the Year” in 1994 and “Outstanding Restaurateur” in 2006 for restaurant Daniel. In April 2007 he received the Culinary Humanitarian Award at the United Nations from the Adopt-a-Mine Field Foundation. The President of France made Boulud a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in March 2006 in recognition for his contribution to the advancement of French culture.
Daniel, his flagship New York City namesake, was awarded three Michelin stars in the 2010 Michelin, the book's highest rating. In addition, Daniel's New York restaurant was awarded 19 points out of 20 on the famous restaurant rating system invented by fellow Frenchman André Gayot of GAYOT.com
Reviews
The New York Times Review by Frank Bruni is well writen and captures the ambiance and goes like this:
You may have had Daniel’s charmed and charming service, which at times seems more like sorcery, the attendants swirling in and stealing away almost imperceptibly, set into motion by nothing more than the subtle raising of your eyes (they notice it) or the mere contemplation of craning your neck (they sense it).
And follows: I savored Daniel’s cheese selection, too, but no one of the restaurant’s attributes was as persuasive as the way they worked together, covering the full spectrum of indulgence.
It’s for coddling this thorough that lovers of fine dining turn to restaurants like Daniel, which safeguards a graciousness that deserves to survive any change in fashions and fortunes.