Raised on a farm in Lyon, Daniel Boulud spent the past 25 years taking the culinary world and the Big Apple by storm. Crave catches up with one of the world’s most celebrated chefs to find out how he keeps it all in line.
Text by Jason Spotts
If you lived in New York from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s, you likely dreamed of eating at fine dining restaurant, Le Cirque. From 1986 to 1992, culinary mastermind Daniel Boulud helped to make the restaurant a household name as its inspirational executive chef.
And despite propelling Le Cirque to lofty heights as one of the world’s best restaurants, it served only as a figurative amuse bouche to what Boulud would go on to achieve.
Since unveiling Michelin three-star DANIEL in 1993, Boulud has kept a pace that rivals anyone in the business. Eleven openings would follow in 17 years, each distinct in its own way, always top of the line and yet always unmistakably Boulud. He has created restaurants from the perspective of a New Yorker, but with the measured hand of a true French culinary genius.
Growing up on a Lyon farm, Boulud would be influenced by produce from an early age. The desire to cook for a living took hold as a young Boulud watched the changing seasons bring new wonders in from the fields.
There he would learn the seasons and the virtues of eating what was best according to nature’s last word. Boulud would develop a love for rustic, seasonal French cuisine and old-fashioned bistro food. It is what he has delivered all his life, counting renowned chefs Roger Vergé, Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard among his mentors.
It would serve Boulud well. In a glittering career, he has amassed a growing list of accolades. From the renowned James Beard Foundation, Boulud has earned “Outstanding Restaurant”, “Outstanding Restaurateur”, “Best Chef, New York City” and “Outstanding Chef of the Year” awards. He is also a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in the French government, the country’s highest honour.
Besides his restaurant empire, Boulud has also written six cookbooks, runs a catering arm and is behind a hit television show. Prior to our meeting, you imagine a man with little time for casual conversation.
However, you are immediately struck by his charm and patience as our chat drifts from his restaurants to how the Knicks will do this season. When asked if he worries about being spread too thin, Boulud is fast to acknowledge his backroom staff.
“Two things matter to me,” he says. “Service and cuisine. These are the things that keep me up at night. The financial part, I leave it to others. I have a wonderful team of 25 people that manage and monitor for me, and in these respects they are more capable than I am.
“Not a single chef in the world can say that he is solely responsible,” continues Boulud, “and that’s true for any person that’s creative.”
True enough. And yet when eating at one of Boulud’s restaurants, his signature is in every corner. While only DANIEL and DB Bistro Moderne in New York require his constant attention, his presence is felt in every fibre from Beijing’s Maison Boulud to Lumière in Vancouver or any of his five restaurants in New York.
“I have very good support in maintaining the DNA of Daniel Boulud,” he continues. “My restaurants are uniquely French, but very different in what they offer and what they are meant to be. However, they will always be Daniel.
“While they contribute their talents, my team works together for a specific style of cooking. We do not work as individuals with individual ideas. You have to make sure that everyone is in tune with you, and spend enough time with your creative team.”
That team allows Boulud to be where he wants to be. DANIEL is clearly Boulud’s primary focus, but his global reach qualifies him as one of the world’s culinary heavyweights. Yet, he is clear in distinguishing stardom from greatness.
“It is one thing to be a famous chef, and another thing entirely to be a great chef,” he says. “I admire chefs who don’t make fame, but simply maintain standards of excellence.”
Boulud belongs in the category of a great chef who happens to be famous. The unwavering quality of his cuisine is acknowledged by even the hardest-to-please in the culinary world.
On two occasions, the decadent DANIEL was recipient of the coveted four-star rating from The New York Times. Despite a reputation for tough appraisals, the newspaper continues to heap praise on Boulud right down to his most casual joint, brasserie and American tavern DBGB.
Not content with his own reputation as a world-class chef, Boulud also has an eye for discovering and nurturing talent of young cooks. Years of experience have given him a perspective that every chef should take to heart. “Many young chefs now choose the path of casual dining,” he explains. “I have been on the upper path… I started there. But now I am practising casual dining from there. I think every chef should walk the upper path first.
“I’ve been cooking for 40 years now and I’m still standing up straight. I want to see young, ambitious chefs 40 years from now, because I know the sacrifice it takes to maintain.”
But don’t take that to mean Boulud can see his career coming to an end. “If I have another 10 to 15 years, I believe I can accomplish my dreams,” he says. “Then I will have to move on to something else, but until that day I will continue to push.
“I have no aspiration to be Ferran Adrià [of El Bulli]. I want to be one of the greatest French chefs of my time, like what Thomas Keller is to American chefs. There will never be enough that will make me happy, and I don’t mean materialistically. I mean consistency, accomplishing more in life as a chef. Everything else is not so important to me.”
1. Who are the up-and-coming young chefs to look out for?
Jean-Marc Boyer has a restaurant in France called Le Puits du Trésor. I don’t know if he’s going to be a superstar, but he’s a very good chef. Also, Daniel Humm in New York and Dale Mackay in Vancouver. Paul Liebrandt in New York is also very talented: British, but talented. There are many others.
2. Which city in the world do you think is most vibrant for food?
Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York are the most vibrant cities for representing many cuisines. What is a vibrant food city? Having the most distinct cuisines in their truest forms of representation. But to me, New York has the upper hand. I’m talking about average level but very good restaurants run by chefs, and not necessarily gastronomy. However many of these places a city has is how I judge its vibrancy.
3. Food writer Giles Coren believes New York to be overrated for food. What is your response?
New York is a city with chefs that nurture their own cuisines. There are so many nationalities and backgrounds returning to their roots. So many chefs that have honed their skills around the world return and apply them to their own culture and heritage. It makes New York unique.
4. What is your impression of Hong Kong as a culinary capital?
I love Hong Kong. I like Gray Kunz of Café Gray Deluxe a lot. Although I wish I could have gone out for more Chinese food. I like to compare Hong Kong to Tokyo, though Tokyo is strictly Japanese. It is very vibrant and very good, but much like France, Tokyo is vibrant in its own category.
5. Favourite airlines?
I like Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. As long as they have a flat bed, it’s the perfect airline. If not, I give them a zero.
6. Out of all the awards that you have won, which was most memorable?
I’ve been in New York for over 25 years, and have received many accolades, some when I was very young. One thing for sure is that it is very rewarding to be nominated. But always after that, let’s get back to the kitchen and cook.
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