Daniel Boulud (born March 25, 1955 in Saint-Pierre de Chandieu, France) is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Vancouver and Beijing. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant in New York City.
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)
At fifteen, Boulud earned his first professional recognition: He was a finalist in France's competition for Best Culinary Apprentice. Boulud worked in France with Roger Vergé, Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard and later in Copenhagen before becoming the private chef to the European Commission in Washington, D.C..
Moving to New York City, Boulud opened the Polo Lounge at The Westbury Hotel then Le Régence at the Hotel Plaza Athenée. From 1986 to 1992, he was Executive Chef at Le Cirque. During his tenure, the restaurant became one of the most highly rated in the country.
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.[1] Chef Daniel Boulud Lumière Vancouver Dinex Group[2] Lumière: The Chef and Restaurant Database (ChefDb)[3] Daniel Boulud: The Chef and Restaurant Database (ChefDb)
In June 2009, it was revealed that Boulud would like his next venture to be in London and that he is currently looking into several options for it. After undergoing renovations, Cafe Boulud is set to reopen in late September 2009 with Bar Pleiades, named after the restaurant that Cafe Boulud replaced, as an adjunct. In May 2010, Daniel Boulud opened Bar Boulud in the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London
Daniel Boulud Brasserie closed on Fourth of July Weekend 2010. Wynn chose not to renew the contact between Boulud & The Resort (see Wynn Las Vegas for more). It is rumored that Boulud is looking for another location to open in Las Vegas, possibly in the space that used to be occupied by Charlie Trotter at The Palazzo.
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.
Boulud also hosts "After Hours with Daniel" a behind-closed-doors look at the late night dinners, by chefs and for chefs. The high definition TV series reveals where chefs go to unwind after a night behind the stove and uncovers the far out foods they crave and cook for each other. Boulud recently completed filming the third season of the show, which features restaurants in the New Orleans and Miami culinary scene. The first season was filmed in New York City restaurants and the second, on the West Coast, in Los Angeles restaurants.
Chef Boulud has been a featured chef on Great Chefs television.
Daniel Boulud works to support 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. On April 13, 2008, Daniel Boulud hosted an intimate Sunday supper to mark the 10th anniversary of Savoring Citymeals...an annual gourmet event he has hosted since 1998.
The Daniel Boulud Scholarship Endowment Fund was established by the chef’s business partner, Joel Smilow, in 2005. The fund serves to provide continuing education enabling promising young American cooks to pursue professional culinary studies in France.
In 2008 Paul Bocuse asked Boulud to establish a structure for the selection of the Bocuse d'Or Team USA, who along with Thomas Keller and Jérôme Bocuse form the Board of Directors of the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation. The first Bocuse d'Or USA competition was held in September 2008.
According to a 2007 article in the New York Times Dining Section, Daniel Boulud was sued by current and former workers for discriminatory labor practices at his namesake restaurant in Manhattan.Kim Severson & Adam Ellick. "Top Chef’s Kitchen Is Far Too Hot, Some Workers Say". The New York Times. January 17, 2007. The workers alleged that Mr. Boulud denied them promotions at his restaurant Daniel because of their race and ethnicity and retaliated against some who complained about it. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit and there was an investigation by the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York state Attorney General’s office. Mr. Boulud settled with the workers, seven current and former employees of Latin American and Bangladeshi descent, for $80,000 and agreed to set up standards and procedures for promotions to be overseen by the EEOC & the state attorney general’s office."Manhattan Restaurant to Settle EEOC National Origin Bias Suit". U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission New York District Office Press Release July 31, 2007. Adam Ellick. "Boulud Settling Suit Alleging Bias at a French Restaurant". The New York Times. July 31, 2007.
Daniel’s Dish, Entertaining at Home with a Four Star Chef (2003)
Letters to a Young Chef (2003)
Braise: a Journey Through International Cuisine (2006)
In 2001, Boulud allowed author Leslie Brenner near unlimited access to Daniel the result was the 2002 book The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant which gives some insight into the workings of the chef and how he operates.
