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 This Month's Calendar
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Event Location
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Friends of James Beard Benefit
Host Chef
Jean Joho
Roland Liccioni
Jean-Louis Palladin
Julain Serrano
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Takashi Yagihashi
Sunday,
June 25,
5:30 p.m
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In a three-toque review of Ambria in Chicago, Gault Millau's The Best of Chicago called Gabino Sotelino "one of the most gifted chefs in town-and a lot of other towns as well." This month, he's got some friendly competition for that particular title-in fact with these seven chefs cooking together, it might very well be tough to decide on the most gifted chef in Sotelino's kitchen.
Sotelino, chef and part owner of Ambria, Un Grand Café, and Café Ba-Ba Reeba! in Chicago, grew up in Spain. He got his start at the Hotel Ritz, apprenticed at the Plaza Athénée in Paris, then opened hotels around the world for Hilton International. He subsequently came to Chicago to run the kitchens of Le Perroquet. In 1977 he took over the stoves at the Pump Room, and after that, went on to start his own restaurant dynasty.
Everest, Phil Vettel wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "is magnificent, a temple of food in which chef Jean Joho masterfully holds sway." A native of Alsace, Joho trained in Strasbourg and cooked with Paul Haeberlin at Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern. In 1986, he opened Everest. A slew of four-star reviews followed-accolades that have traveled with him to Brasserie Jo and the Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas.
Roland Liccioni, chef/owner of Les Nomades, cooked in Paris and London before moving to the United States in 1980 to run the stoves at Carlos, outside Chicago. In 1989 he moved to the celebrated Le Français, and in 1994 he bought Les Nomades, which Tribune critic Phil Vettel gave a glowing three-star review.
Jean-Louis Palladin is the "dean of the French gastronomic diaspora," Peter Kaminsky once wrote in New York magazine. At 28, Palladin was the youngest chef in France ever to earn two Michelin stars. At 33, he came to Washington, D.C., to open his eponymous place at the Watergate. After 18 years, he took his show on the road, opening Napa at Las Vegas's Rio Suite Hotel & Casino and Palladin at the Time Hotel in New York to rave reviews.
At one time being the best restaurant in Las Vegas didn't mean much, but Julian Serrano at Picasso has changed that. His Mobil five-star restaurant in Belaggio earned a Beard nomination last year for Best New Restaurant and critical kudos from Gourmet, Food & Wine, and The New York Times.
Alsatian-born Jean-Georges Vongerichten is a New York culinary legend. After training throughout France and Asia, at the age of 26, Vongerichten landed at Lafayette in New York. He promptly won a four-star review in The New York Times. Jojo, Vong, and Lipstick Café followed. In 1997, he opened the spectacular Jean Georges, and earned four stars from Ruth Reichl, who wrote in The New York Times, "Jean-Georges Vongerichten is creating a restaurant revolution."
Tribute, according to The New York Times, "may be the best restaurant between New York and Chicago and certainly the finest in Detroit." Gourmet agreed, naming Takashi Yagihashi's restaurant to its roster of America's Top Tables.
MENU
Roland Liccioni
Assorted Hors d'Oeuvre
Gran Juvé y Camps CAVA Brut 1995
Jean-Louis Palladin
Farandole de Foie Gras
Cuvée Sotelino NV
Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Green Asparagus with Morels and Asparagus Jus
Remelluri Blanco 1996
Julian Serrano
Sea Scallops with Potatoes Mousseline and Jus de Veau
Martin Codax Albariño 1998
Jean Joho
Crépinette of Wild Sturgeon Wrapped in Cabbage, Alsatian-Style
Trimbach Riesling 1998
Takashi Yagihashi
Roasted Montana Loin of Lamb with Buckwheat Risotto, Braised Lamb Shoulder, and Curry-Coriander Sauce
Torres Muga Reserva Especial 1995
Abadia Retuerta Cuvée El Campanario 1996
Gabino Sotelino and Michel Briand
Selected Ambria Desserts
El Crifo 1998