Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Jean-Georges Vongerichten (German: [ʒãːˈʒɔrʒ fɔnɡəˈrɪçtn̩] ; French: [ʒɑ̃ʒɔʁʒ vɔŋɡəʁiʃtɛn] ; born in Alsace, France, on March 16, 1957) is a French chef. Vongerichten owns restaurants in Miami Beach, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo, as well as New York's Jean-Georges restaurant and Tangará Jean Georges in São Paulo's Palácio Tangará, by Oetker Collection. He is head chef of Eden Rock, St Barths. Vongerichten is the author of five cookbooks, two with Mark Bittman.

Born and raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, Vongerichten had a family life centered around the kitchen, where each day his mother and grandmother prepared lunch for the almost 50 employees of their business. His love of food cemented his choice of career at the age of 16, when his parents brought him to the three-star Michelin-rated Auberge de l'Ill for a birthday dinner.

Vongerichten began his training soon after in a work-study program at the Auberge de l'Ill as an apprentice to Chef Paul Haeberlin. He went on to work with France's top chefs, including Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier at L'Oasis in the south of France.[citation needed ]

Often working with Outhier, Vongerichten opened ten restaurants around the world from 1980 to 1985, including the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, the Meridien Hotel in Singapore, and the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong.

Vongerichten arrived in the United States in 1985 under the auspices of consulting chef Louis Outhier, opening the Le Marquis de Lafayette restaurant in Boston. A year later he arrived in New York to take over as executive chef at Lafayette in the Drake Swissôtel, earning four stars from The New York Times at the age of 29. There he met financiers Bob Giraldi and Phil Suarez. Vongerichten, Giraldi and Suarez opened a bistro, JoJo, in 1991. JoJo was named Best New Restaurant of the Year, and earned three stars from The New York Times.

United States

International

Vongerichten's next venture, Vong, paid homage to his passion for the spices and flavors of the East, earning a three-star review from The New York Times for his "explosive flavorful food". In an adjacent space to Vong, Vongerichten 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. In November 2009 it was revealed that Vong was closing at its longtime location indefinitely after it decided not to renew the lease.

In March 1997, Vongerichten 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. Jean-Georges Restaurant also received a three-star rating from the Michelin Guide, an accolade it held until 2017, when its rating was reduced to two stars.

A year and a half later, Vongerichten opened a second Vong in the Knightsbridge area of London, earning a three-star review and the 1996 vote for the Evening Standard' s "Newcomer of the Year." In September 1997, he opened Vong in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, which the Robb Report awarded "Best Restaurant in the World" award in 1998. A fourth Vong opened in Chicago, partnering with restaurant corporation Lettuce Entertain You and Geoff Alexander, to become VTK (Vong's Thai Kitchen) in 2002. This change was to make the signature Jean-George style available to a wider audience at a more accessible price point. All three additional Vongs, including VTK, have since closed.

Vongerichten followed the third Vong with The Mercer Kitchen, in July 1998, in the Mercer Hotel in SoHo. Featuring an American-Provincial menu and "communal" style tables in the open-kitchen area, the restaurant is set to close at the end of 2022.[needs update ] The reason Vongerichten gave: "It's been 25 years, a great run."[10]

In 1998, Jean George's Prime steakhouse opened in the Bellagio resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11] The steakhouse serves dinner nightly and offers guests patio seating overlooking the Fountains of Bellagio. It is rated Four Diamonds by the American Automobile Association.[12][13]

In 2004, Vongerichten opened Spice Market, which centered its cuisine around Southeast Asian street food in New York City. It closed in September 2016 due to an increase in rent.[14]

Perry Street opened in 2005 (French-American) also in New York City.[citation needed ]

Chambers Kitchen in Minneapolis opened in 2007.

In 2008, Vongerichten teamed up with the Matsushita Brothers from Tokyo to open Matsugen.

Vongerichten opened his newest[clarification needed ] steakhouse in December 2008 atop The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. With fare consisting of steaks and seafood, the restaurant has received four stars from The Arizona Republic[15] and is regarded as one of the top-three steakhouses in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.[16]

In November 2009, Vongerichten opened Market in Boston's W Hotel, inspired by the casual, simple elegance of the setting, Jean-Georges has created a relaxed menu that emphasizes fresh, locally produced ingredients. Market closed in December 2013. Co-owner Culinary Concepts of New York stated through spokesman Max Buccini: "Due to the rising costs of labor in the hotel landscape in Boston, it became increasingly difficult to operate."[17]

Vongerichten opened a restaurant at the Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver in 2009. "Market by Jean-Georges" is the first collaboration between Shangri-La and Vongerichten and is the chef's first involvement with Canadian or west coast dining.[18]

Vongerichten opened a namesake restaurant inside the Aria Resort and Casino,[19] a casino resort hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant features A-5 grade Kobe beef from the Hyōgo Prefecture in Kobe City, Japan, which makes it one of the eight restaurants in the United States to feature the beef.[20] In May 2017, the Las Vegas steakhouse underwent a two-month renovation. The restaurant made its second debut in July 2017. In addition to an updated ambiance – table-side charcuterie service and new craft cocktails are now featured at Jean-Georges Steakhouse.[21]

The Paris Café opened on May 15, 2019, along with the opening of the TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport[22] serving retro type meals similar to meals served on TWA flights when Trans World Airlines was using the TWA Flight Center.[23]

Jean-Georges's first vegan restaurant is ABCV in Manhattan.[24] The Infatuation, a restaurant-recommendation website, rated it 8.5/10 and named it one of New York City's best new restaurants of 2017, writing that "they aren't out to make a vegetable into something else. There’s no cashew cheese, and nothing is labeled as a 'steak.' They just source great vegetables at the green market and make them into something delicious".[25]

In September 2008, Vongerichten agreed to settle a lawsuit for $2.2 million filed by staff who claimed tips from several of his restaurants had been redirected to managers.[26]

In 2005, 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. "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."[27]

Vongerichten claims to have invented molten chocolate cake in New York City in 1987, but the French chef and chocolatier Jacques Torres has disputed that, arguing that such a dish already existed in France.[citation needed ]

Vongerichten resides in New York City with his wife, Marja, a Korean-American/African-American actress and model (née Marja Dominique Allen; born 1976).[28] The couple has a daughter.

Vongerichten also has two adult children, Cedric (who is the executive chef of Perry Street) and Louise (who recently opened a restaurant called Chefs Club in NY), from his first marriage. His daughter Louise is married to Hamdi Ulukaya. Vongerichten has three grandchildren. He spends weekends at a house in Waccabuc, New York[29]

Vongerichten serves on the Food Council at City Harvest, and runs his own foundation called Food Dreams.[30][31]

In 2011, Vongerichten and his wife, Marja, debuted a PBS television series, Kimchi Chronicles, a travel and cooking show set in South Korea and New York City.[32]