Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Infobox Chef
name = Master Chef
Jean-Georges Vongerichten


caption = Jean-Georges Vongerichten
birthdate = birth year and age|1956
birthplace = Alsace, France
deathdate =
deathplace =
style = Contemporary French cuisine, Thai inspired French cuisine, Vibrant and Spare cuisine, American Nouvelle cuisine
education = Culinary school in Perpignan, France
ratings =
restaurants = JoJo, Vong, Jean Georges, Mercer Kitchen, Spice Market, Perry Street (New York City), Prime Steakhouse (Las Vegas), Vong's Thai Kitchen (Chicago), Chambers Kitchen (Minneapolis), Market (Paris), Cafe Martinique, Dune (Bahamas), V, Rama (London), Jean-Georges (Shanghai), Lagoon (Bora Bora), Matsu Gen (NYC-opening (?)
prevrests =
television =
awards =
website = http://www.jean-georges.com/

Jean-Georges Vongerichten (IPAEng|ʒɑn ʒɔʀʒ vɔŋəˈrɪxtˌən) is "one of the most celebrated chefs on the planet." [Sigal, Jane [http://foodandwine.netscape.com/articles/invoke.cfm?label=jean-georges-phone-home "Jean-Georges, Phone Home"] Food & Wine magazine, July 2005] He was born in the Alsace in 1956 and now resides in the United States of America. Mr. Vongerichten commands a global empire of restaurants that includes venues in London, Paris and Shanghai, as well as New York's three-Michelin-starred Jean Georges Restaurant. [Morrow, Fiona [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080909.wvancouverRestaurant0909/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/home "Vancouver restaurant scene lands a star"] Globe and Mail, September 9 2004] He is author of four cookbooks, two with Mark Bittman.

Early Life in France

Born and raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, Jean-Georges’ earliest family memories are about food. The Vongerichten home centered around the kitchen, where each day his mother and grandmother would prepare lunch for the almost 50 employees in their family-owned business. His love for food cemented into his choice for a career at the age of 16, when his parents brought him to the 3-star Michelin-rated Auberge de l’IIl for a birthday dinner.Bittman, Mark [http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/htce/MeetTheChefs/detail/chefId-6.html "Meet the Chefs"] How to Cook Everything book series, John Wiley & Sons Inc.]

Culinary Education

Jean-Georges began his training soon after in a work-study program at the Auberge de l'III as an apprentice to Chef Paul Haeberlin. He went on to work with the top chefs in France, including Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier at L’Oasis in the south of France. With this three-star Michelin training, Jean-Georges won a position at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. From 1980 to 1985, he opened 10 restaurants around the world, including one at the Meridien Hotel in Singapore and another at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong.

Relocation to America

Jean-Georges arrived in the United States in 1985, opening the Lafayette restaurant in Boston. A year later he arrived in New York to take over the executive Chef position at Lafayette in the Drake Swissôtel, generating critical acclaim with his innovative interpretation of classic French cuisine and earning four stars from The New York Times at the age of 29. Jean-Geroges opened his bistro JoJo in 1991. JoJo was named Best New Restaurant of the Year, and earned three stars from The New York Times, in which Food critic Ruth Reichl claimed: "His food took my breath away".

Vong

His next venture, Vong, paid homage to his passion for the spices and flavors of the East. Using over 150 different herbs and spices to create his take on Thai-inspired French cuisine, the menu at Vong impressed critics, earning another three-star review from The New York Times for his "explosive flavorful food". In an adjacent space to Vong, Jean-Georges also opened The Lipstick Cafe, catering to the midtown business crowd and serving breakfast and lunch in a casual, upscale setting. The Lipstick Cafe has since closed.

Jean-Georges at the Trump International Hotel

In March 1997, Jean-Georges opened Jean-Georges Restaurant in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, earning a four star review from The New York Times less than three months after opening, and the "Chef of the Year Award" from John Mariani at Esquire magazine. Jean-Georges remains one of 3 restaurants in the city awarded four stars by the New York Times and three stars by the Michelin Guide.

Frank Bruni of The Times said it offers “accessible elegance,” providing “classic French indulgence with a contemporary flair.” The restaurant trades “the richness of traditional French cooking for a different kind of intensity,” he added — it eliminates “thick sauces and embraces oils and broths, preferring them for their lightness and for the way they release their scents, like the perfume of lemon grass that rose from a bath of Asian herbs and seeds around a delicately baked lobster tartine.” [Times Topics>People [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/v/jeangeorges_vongerichten/index.html "Jean-Georges Vongerichten"] New York Times ]

Expanding the Brand

A year and a half later, Jean-Georges opened a second Vong in the Knightsbridge area of London, earning a three-star review and the 1996 vote for the London Evening Standard’s "Newcomer of the Year". In September 1997, he opened Vong in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, which Robb Report awarded "Best Restaurant in the World" award in 1998 . A fourth Vong in Chicago changed its name and format to VTK (Vong's Thai Kitchen) in 2002. The 2nd and 3rd Vongs have since closed.

Jean-Georges followed with The Mercer Kitchen, opened in July 1998, in the stylish Mercer Hotel in Soho. This venture features an American-Provincial menu and ‘communal’ style tables in the open kitchen area. Another addition is the Prime Steakhouse in Steve Wynn’s Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, which opened in October 1998.

More recently Jean-Georges has opened Spice Market (Southeast Asian street food) in 2004 and Perry Street in 2005 (French-American)in NYC, as well as the Chambers Kitchen in Minneapolis [ [http://www.chambersminneapolis.com/chambers-hotel-kitchen/ chambers kitchen - luxury art hotel - jean-georges vongerichten - Asian inspired menu ] ] in 2007. He has opened various places around the world in the past 2 years.

tarwood Hotels

Jean-Georges Vongerichten and partner Phil Suarez have formed a new company with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Catterton Partners, a consumer-focused private-equity firm which will own, operate, manage and license restaurants in Starwood properties as well as freestanding concepts not attached to the hotel giant's lodging outlets. The deal calls for 7 Spice Markets and other concepts world wide. The total number of eating destinations could total 56 with this contract. The first to open will be Spice Markets at new W Hotels in both Atlanta and Istanbul.

Vancouver Restaurant

Jean-Georges Vongerichten is opening a restaurant at the Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver, a luxury hotel that Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open in early 2009. “Market by Jean-Georges” is the first collaboration between Shangri-La and Mr. Vongerichten and is the famous chef's first involvement with Canadian or west coast dining. [Morrow, Fiona [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080909.wvancouverRestaurant0909/BNStory/lifeFoodWine/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080909.wvancouverRestaurant0909 "Internationally feted chef opening Vancouver restaurant"] Globe and Mail, September 9 2008]

Influence

New York Magazine wrote that in the past two decades, no single chef has had more influence on the way New Yorkers dine out—or on the way other chefs cook and other restaurants look. “He invented America’s answer to nouvelle cuisine,” says Mario Batali, who knows something about starting culinary trends. “When I first came to New York, his book Simple Cuisine was the holy grail for young chefs, and JoJo was the hottest ticket in town.” [McInerney, Jay [http://nymag.com/nymetro/food/features/12074/] New York Magazine, June 18, 2005]

Controversy

In September, 2008, Jean-Georges agreed to settle a lawsuit for $1.7 million filed by staff who claimed tips from several of his restaurants had been redirected to managers. [cite web|url=http://www.meeja.com.au/index.php?display_article_id=229|title=Waiters successfully sue celeb chef for tips|publisher=www.meeja.com.au |date=2008-09-17 |accessdate=2008-09-17 ]

Family

Jean-Georges is married to Marja Allen. His children are: Chloe (who speaks English, French, Spanish and Korean language), Cedric and Louise.

Books

* "Simple to Spectacular" (co-authored with Mark Bittman) (2000), ISBN 0-7679-0360-9
* "Jean-Georges: Cooking At Home with a Four-Star Chef" (co-authored with Mark Bittman) (1998), ISBN 0-7679-0155-X
* "Simple Cuisine: The Easy, New Approach to Four-Star Cooking" (1991), ISBN 0-13-195059-2
* "Asian Flavorings of Jean-Georges" (October, 2007)

References

External links

* [http://starchefs.com/JGVong/html/biography.shtml Biography at Starchefs]
* [http://www.jean-georges.com/ Official website]
* [http://jeangeorges.blogspot.com/ Official blog]