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'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, and Las Vegas. A former executive chef at ''Le Cirque'', he is best known for his Michelin two-star restaurant, ''Daniel''.
At fifteen, Boulud earned his first professional recognition: He was a finalist in France's competition for Best Culinary Apprentice. Boulud trained under Roger Vergé, Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard and worked 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. In 1992, Boulud won the James Beard Award for Best Chef of New York City.
Boulud opened ''Daniel'' in 1993. It was rated one of the ten best restaurants in the world by the ''International Herald Tribune''. He has been 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. Five years later, he relocated the restaurant to larger premises at the former Mayfair Hotel—premises, in fact, which had once housed ''Le Cirque''. The original Daniel was re-launched as Café Boulud. Subsequently, he opened a more casual restaurant in the theater district of Manhattan, dB Bistro Moderne, and a second Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida.
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.
According to a January 18, 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. 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. Mr. Boulud eventually 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 federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission & the state attorney general’s office.

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External links

External links

★ New York Times Daniel Boulud Racism Article

★ New York Times Daniel Boulud EEOC settlement article

★ EEOC Press Release Regarding Restaurant Daniel July 31, 2007

★ New York Times Article on EEOC findings Aug. 1, 2007

★ New York Magazine Article on racism protests

★ Official site

★ LX.TV Video Interview

★ Interview with chef Boulud and video of restaurant