Daniel Boulud
Daniel Boulud is Chef-Owner of several award-winning restaurants and the Feast & Fêtes catering company. While he hails from outside Lyon, France, it is in New York that he has truly mastered the dining scene and is today considered one of America’s leading culinary authorities. Raised on his family’s farm in the village of Saint-Pierre- de-Chandieu, the chef remains inspired by the rhythm of the seasons and menus driven by fine ingredients. Since arriving in the US in 1982, Boulud has become renowned for the contemporary appeal he adds to soulful cooking rooted in French tradition.
Daniel Boulud’s New York City restaurants include his flagship DANIEL (1993), Relais & Châteaux member; the elegant one-Michelin star Café Boulud (1998) with its adjacent cocktail bar, Bar Pleiades; his contemporary Parisian bistro, db bistro moderne (2001); two Upper West Side restaurants including the charcuterie-centric Bar Boulud (2008) and the Mediterranean-themed Boulud Sud (2011). Épicerie Boulud (2011), with locations across from Lincoln Center, within The Plaza Food Hall and in the Oculus World Trade Center, is an eat-in and take-out market and café, with exquisite homemade and gourmet items from around the world.
Beyond Manhattan the chef has created Café Boulud in Palm Beach (2003), DBGB Kitchen and Bar at Washington’s CityCenterDC (2014), Bar Boulud in Boston’s Mandarin Oriental (2014) and most recently, a second outpost of Boulud Sud in downtown Miami (2018). Boulud has extended his culinary reach internationally with db bistro moderne at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (2010), Bar Boulud London (2010) at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, Café Boulud at the Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (2012), and Maison Boulud at the Ritz-Carlton Montréal (2012).
Boulud’s culinary accolades include James Beard Foundation awards for “Outstanding Restaurant,” “Outstanding Restaurateur,” “Best Chef, New York City” and “Outstanding Chef of the Year.” He has been named “Chef of the Year” by the Culinary Institute of America and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French government. Restaurant DANIEL has been cited as “one of the ten best restaurants in the world” by the International Herald Tribune, has earned multiple Michelin stars and Wine Spectator’s “Grand Award”. In 2015 the World’s 50 Best Restaurants awarded Boulud the Diners Club® Lifetime Achievement Award for his success as a restaurateur, businessman, and ‘chef who is revered as one of the world’s finest.’ Boulud’s culinary style and reverence to mentorship is reflected in ten books, including the definitive DANIEL: My French Cuisine (Grand Central Publishing, 2013), My Best: Daniel Boulud (Ducasse Books, 2014) and a recently updated version of Letters to a Young Chef (Basic Books, 2017).
Arnaud Lallement
In 1997, having recently completed his studies at the school of hospitality in Strasbourg and interned in such grand houses as Roger Vergé, Michel Guérard and Alain Chapel, Arnaud Lallement returned home to work alongside his father, Jean Pierre Lallement, at the family establishment, a beautiful turn of the century home surrounded by gardens on the outskirts of Reims.
In 2000, he took over full responsibility of the kitchens at L’Assiette Champenoise. Today, Arnaud and his team work exclusively with high quality products, with both great love and a true passion for fine cuisine.
In 2001, at the age of 26, Arnaud was awarded his first Michelin Star. Sadly, his father, the founder of L’Assiette Champenoise, passed away shortly thereafter, at the age of 51.
In 2003, Arnaud wrote his first cookbook “Carnet des Saveurs en Champagne.” That same year, he was the youngest chef chosen by Alain Ducasse for the Fou-Food France, a campaign that allows young provincial chefs to present their expertise at a Parisian table.
In March 2005, L’Assiette Champenoise received its second star in the Michelin guide and Arnaud renovated both the kitchen and dining room of the restaurant.
In 2006, Arnaud was welcomed into the “Grandes Tables Du Monde” organization.
In 2010, Arnaud celebrated 10 years of collaboration with Olivier Krug of Champagne Krug as well as his family’s 35th anniversary at L’Assiette Champenoise. Together, Arnaud and Olivier have established regular champagne pairings for the delight of their clients.
In October 2012 the restaurant received “5 Toques” by the Gault Millau guide.
In February 2013, the 35 rooms and suite hotel, associated with the restaurant, obtained five stars.
In October 2013, Arnaud Lallement was voted “Chef of the Year 2014” by the Gault Millau guide.
In February 2014, the Michelin guide awarded him a third star and Arnaud Lallement entered the exclusive circle of the 27 best restaurants in France with 3 Michelin stars.
In September 2014, Arnaud Lallement was elected “Chef of the Year” by the magazine Le Chef.
In October 2016, Arnaud Lallement obtained the grade of 19.5 from the influential French restaurant guide Gault and Millau and also released his book "Emotion en Champagne."
In December 2016, he obtained the 4th highest rating of the List with a grade of 99.
James KnappetT & Sandia Chang
James Knappett
Bubbledogs and Kitchen Table Head Chef James Knappett has worked at some of the world’s most highly-regarded and celebrated restaurants. Having spent time in the kitchens at The Ledbury under Brett Graham (two Michelin stars) and at Marcus Wareing’s The Berkeley (also two stars), James has also worked under Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road (three stars) and Rick Stein's The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow. James worked for two-years in the kitchen at the ‘World’s Best Restaurant’ Noma (two stars) and Thomas Keller’s NYC restaurant, Per Se (three stars), which is where he met his now wife and business partner, Sandia Chang.
Sandia Chang
Chef trained at the internationally recognised Culinary Institute of America in New York, Sandia Chang has since held positions in respected restaurants such as Roganic, where she was the Assistant Manager and Wine Buyer; and at Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, where she held the position of Assistant Manager. Originally from California, she has also worked at Noma, named the ‘World’s Best Restaurant’, and Per Se (where is where she met husband James Knappett). Sandia is Sommelier at both bubbledogs and Michelin Starred Kitchen Table and prides herself is knowing all suppliers personally, making regular visits to the small-batch producers in Champagne to research and curate the restaurant’s wine lists. Sandia and bubbledogs were awarded ‘Wine List of the Year’ by Imbibe magazine in 2013 and a one-star award from World of Fine Wines in 2016 for Bubbledogs and a two-star award for Kitchen Table in 2017. Sandia is a regular wine presenter on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, where she selects great value supermarket wines to match with the dishes cooked by top chefs live in the studio. In 2018, Sandia was awarded Best Front of House at the GQ Food and Drink Awards and also that year, James and Sandia were awarded ‘The Welcome and Service Award’ by Michelin, stating that they were chosen because “they proved there could be harmony between the kitchen and service teams”.
About Bubbledogs
Husband and wife team James Knappett and Sandia Chang opened bubbledogs in August 2012 at 70 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia. Knappett is Head Chef, while Chang is General Manager and Sommelier. bubbledogs serves grower champagne, sparkling wine and hot dogs. The interior was designed and created by Knappett and Chang themselves, and incorporates an anaglypta ceiling, original reconditioned flooring, a copper-topped bar, reclaimed pine wall cladding, exposed brick, and original Georgian wire windows. Meanwhile, hidden from sight behind a curtain at the back of bubbledogs, is Kitchen Table: a 20-seat ‘chef’s table’ restaurant which sees Knappett and his team host intimate dinners, with guests seated directly around his open-kitchen. Awarded a Michelin star in 2014, James prepares, cooks and serves a daily-changing 14-course menu of meticulously sourced and foraged British ingredients. In 2018, Michelin awarded ‘The Welcome and Service Award’ to Sandia Chang and James Knappett, stating that they were chosen because “they proved there could be harmony between the kitchen and service teams”.
About Kitchen Table
Kitchen Table is the intimate ‘chef’s table dining room’ tucked away behind bubbledogs restaurant in Fitzrovia. With just 20 seats at the stainless-steel bar that surrounds Head Chef James Knappett’s open kitchen, Kitchen Table sees James and his team prepare, serve and talk diners through an exciting daily changing 12-14 course tasting menu of unique, contemporary European dishes. The daily menu is always based on the best and freshest ingredients they get on the day. Many of James’ signature dishes bear hallmarks of his time at world-renowned restaurants Noma (Copenhagen) and Per Se (New York), with a strong focus on British traditions, ingredients and flavours. James personally forages for many of the produce used on his menu. Each dish is named by a single word, denoted by its main ingredient. Some of James’ signature dishes include: ‘Beetroot’ – beetroot, fennel and garlic scapes; ‘Chicken’ - chicken skin, grilled onion and burrata milk; ‘Beef’ - beef, dead nettle and carrot; and ‘Hay’ - hay, strawberry, malt and sweet cicely.
Photo courtesy of Liz Clayman
Michael White
Although Michael White’s soulful, flavorful interpretations of Italian cuisine indicate otherwise, Michael is in fact a Midwesterner who spent his childhood in Beloit, Wisconsin. By whim or intuition, White decided to enroll in Kendall Culinary Institute and then secured a position in Chicago’s Spiaggia. He studied for seven years at the acclaimed San Domenico in Imola before returning to the United States. In 2007, White partnered with Ahmass Fakahany to open Due Terre and Due Mari in New Jersey. One year later, Fakahany and White officially formed the Altamarea Group to open Marea, which garnered three stars from The New York Times, and holds two Michelin stars. From Marea, Fakahany and White extended their culinary vision and opened Michelin-starred Ai Fiori; Osteria Morini restaurants in Soho, New York; Bernardsville, New Jersey; and Washington, D.C.; Vaucluse, their French brasserie on Park Avenue, New York, including OMAR at Vaucluse; and Nicoletta Pizzerias in New York City, Citifield, Bernardsville, NJ and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Outside the United States, Altamarea has properties in Istanbul, and Hong Kong.
Chef White has received the highest recognition in his career from Michelin, Relais & Chateaux, The New York Times, James Beard Foundation, Zagats and many other organizations. White was also named of the “40 Most Influential New Yorkers under 40” by Crains, New York. He has also been requested to cook for several U.S. Presidents.
Philip DeMaiolo
Pier Sixty and the Lighthouse, Current
Chef Philip DeMaiolo, Executive Chef of Pier Sixty and the Lighthouse and Current in New York City, has over thirty years experience in the culinary industry. His experience spans many capacities: Saucier at the Plaza, Garde Manger at the Vista International Hotel (Hilton International), Executive Chef of the Larchmont Yacht Club, Executive Sous Chef at the Essex House, adjunct professor at New York City Technical College, College and past restaurant owner..
Chef DeMaiolo started working in kitchens at the age of 16. By 24 years old, DeMaiolo was Executive Chef of the Novotel in New York City. He furthered his culinary knowledge and training by attending the Hotel-Restaurant School at the New York City Technical College and by training in France.
Out of the kitchen, DeMaiolo is involved in many culinary organizations and has held the positions of Vice President, Treasurer, Board of Directors, Chef and the Child Chairperson, and founding member of the Long Island Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. He is the past Foundation President of the New York City Chapter of the Escoffier Society, and present society President, a Certified Executive Chef and a member of the American Academy of Chefs. Chef DeMaiolo has won medals in competitions sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation, was awarded the Chef Professionalism Award in 1994 and was named Chapter Chef of the Year for 1996. Just this year he received the 2017 Chapter Chef Professionalism Award. He spends most of his free time mentoring young culinarians and assisting the educational guidance for hospitality in NYC. Presently Chef DeMaiolo Chairs the Culinary Commission for Career and Technical Education for the NYC Board of Education.
Chef DeMaiolo has been featured on following television programs: the Food Network’s “Behind the Bash” with Giada deLaurentis, “the Party Planner” with David Tutera, “Dinner and a Movie” on TBS, and on an episode of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” as the guest caterer. Chef DeMaiolo has served as an adjunct professor at New York Institute of Technology Culinary campus and a moderator at the 2009 Catersource Conference and Tradeshow.
