Test your Design IQ
Who is the internationally acclaimed, Alsatian-born chef who holds an unprecedented total of 12 stars from The New York Times for his four New York City restaurants: JoJo, Vong, Jean Georges, and the Mercer Kitchen?
MANILA, Philippines - He was born and raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace in 1956, and his earliest memories are about food. His family’s home centered around the kitchen, where his mother and grandmother would prepare lunch for almost 50 employees in the family business every day.
There, he would become known as “the palate” to his family, tasting each sauce and dish, and recommending salt or some more herbs.
His love for food made it easy for him to make a choice in his career, and he decided to take the culinary route when his parents brought him to the three-star Michelin-rated Auberge de l’Ill for a birthday dinner. Shortly after, he trained as an apprentice to chef Paul Haeberlin at the same restaurant.
After working with some of the world’s top chefs, including Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier, he won a position at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok. From 1980 to 1985, he opened an impressive 10 restaurants around the world, including the Meridien in Singapore and the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. During this stint in Asia, he developed his love for the exotic and aromatic flavors of the East, which he would later celebrate in his restaurant Vong.
In 1986, he burst onto the New York dining scene at the Lafayette in the Drake Swiss Hotel, dazzling diners with his innovative interpretation of French cuisine, earning for him four stars from The New York Times.
Later, in 1991, he opened JoJo, a charming bistro, where he introduced New Yorkers to his vibrant and spare cuisine, creating intense flavors and satisfying textures by replacing traditional meat stocks with vegetable juices and fruit essences, light broths, and herbal vinaigrettes.
His next venture, Vong, paid homage to the spices and flavors of the East, a passion he developed during his stay in the Orient.
In March 1997, he opened Jean Georges in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, earning a four-star review from The New York Times in less than three months.
One of his more recent projects, the Mercer Kitchen in the stylish Mercer Hotel in SoHo, features an American-Provencal menu and communal-style tables in the open kitchen area where guests and diners may choose to eat, converse, and watch the kitchen’s activities.
* * *
Last week’s question: Who is the Japanese celebrity chef best known as the first Iron Chef from his country?
Answer: Rokusaburo Michiba
Winner: Rizza Ariola, Cainta, Rizal
Text your answer to 0905-3142614 with your name and address. One winner will be chosen through a raffle of texts with the correct answer. The winner will receive P2,000 worth of SM gift certificates for use at Our Home, SM Department Store, or SM Supermarket. They can claim their prize at Our Home in SM Megamall. Call the store manager at 634-1950, 634-1943. Bring photocopies of two valid IDs and a clipping of the Design Quiz issue in which you appear as winner.
