Daniel Boulud of Daniel in New York has been awarded the 2015 Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the prestigious award that celebrates the extraordinary achievements of chefs from around the globe, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna. Daniel Boulud, originally from Lyon, earned his first professional recognition at 15 years of age when he was a finalist in France’s competition for Best Culinary Apprentice. Boulud then worked with some of France’s most renowned chefs including Roger Vergé,
Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard. He went on to build his own reputation in New York, first as a chef and then also as a restaurateur. Soon after moving to New York City, Boulud opened the Polo Lounge at The Westbury Hotel, then Le Régence at the Hotel Plaza Athenée. He also spent six years as Executive Chef at Le Cirque.
Daniel New York
In 1993, Boulud set out on his own and opened Daniel in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The menu at Daniel is defined by a conscious progression of taste experiences that build upon the first moments of brightness, acidity, and delight, through to the more developed, spiced and textured courses.
“I have always tried to create a dining experience for guests that are completely memorable,” says Boulud “When you enter Restaurant Daniel, you really feel you have left the world behind and entered into an intimate, pleasurable cocoon of fine cuisine.”
Today Boulud’s restaurant group stretches across the globe with restaurants in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Las Vegas, Palm Beach and Miami in the US; internationally his restaurants can be found in Toronto, Montreal, London and Singapore.
“The challenge - and I would hope, my ultimate success, or what I should be judged by - is the creativity, and level of detail and service that is achieved, in every one of my restaurants,” says Boulud. “This, along with mentoring chefs, is my life’s work and what I am proudest of.”
William Drew, Group Editor of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, said: “We are delighted to be able to present this prestigious award to one of France’s and America’s most accomplished chefs. “Daniel’s classic cooking style has evolved to incorporate modern techniques and international flavours. This award is recognition of his extraordinary talent and a celebration of his success as both a chef and restaurateur.”
As a winner of The Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award, Daniel Boulud joins a long line of celebrated chefs from across the world to have been honoured over the last decade, including France’s Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse and Jöel Robuchon and America’s Thomas Keller and Alice Waters. This year’s results will be announced at the annual awards ceremony, held in London’s Guildhall on 1st June.
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