Tuesday, January 24, 7:00 pm
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Christophe Emé’s dish of eggs and caviar cooked in hot ashes arrives at the table of his restaurant, Ortolan, resembling a phoenix egg. The outer shell is lifted to reveal a soft, delicate interior of unctuous egg yolk and caviar, accented with an unsweetened vanilla bean whipped cream. It is just one example of Emé’s cooking, which he performs with “intense precision,” though he’s “not above having fun,” according to John Mariani, who named Ortolan to Esquire’s list of the Best New Restaurants of 2005.

Food & Wine admired Emé’s style as well, so much so that they named him to their list of the Best New Chefs of 2005. “After working in some of the best kitchens in Paris, he’s bringing that rigorous French training to laid-back Los Angeles—and creating dishes with an infectious sense of playfulness,” wrote the magazine’s Kate Krader. The restaurant, which encompasses an elegant, chandelier-filled dining room, a recreation of a wine vault, and a living herb wall, combines Emé’s clever yet refined cuisine with unpretentious, California-style service. Mariani wrote, “Ortolan has ambitiously sought to correct the gradual extinction of fine dining in L.A.,” while in her Los Angeles Times review, S. Irene Virbila termed Ortolan, “L’Orangerie for the next generation.”

L’Orangerie is an apt comparison, as the glamorous restaurant was Emé’s final stop before opening Ortolan. Born and raised in the Loire Valley, Emé took his first apprenticeship at the age of 15 at the Hôtel de France in Contres. His next posts included the Auberge des Templiers in Loiret, Auberge de L’Éridan in Veyrier-du-Lac, and Michel Rostang, Laurent, and Taillevent in Paris. Emé was also on the opening team of Normandie Grill at the Hotel Oriental in Bangkok, run by Taillevent owner Jean-Claude Vrinat. Emé moved to the United States and worked for a short time in New York City before he was tapped for the executive chef position at L’Orangerie. It was while working there that Emé met actress Jeri Ryan, and the two teamed up to open Ortolan in February 2005.