Jean-Georges Vongerichten
Jean-Georges Vongerichten | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 16, 1957 Near Strasbourg, Alsace, France |
| Occupation(s) | Chef, restaurateur, author |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | Operating restaurants worldwide including Jean-Georges in New York City; pioneering American nouvelle cuisine; authoring five cookbooks |
Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born March 16, 1957) is a chef of French-American heritage. He operates dining establishments in prominent cities such as Miami Beach, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Shanghai, Philadelphia, and Tokyo. Among his notable venues are New York’s flagship Jean-Georges and Tangará Jean Georges located within São Paulo’s Palácio Tangará, which is part of the Oetker Collection. Additionally, he holds the position of head chef at Eden Rock, St Barths. Vongerichten has published five cookbooks, including two co-authored with Mark Bittman.
Early life and career
Originating from a town near Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France, Vongerichten was raised in a household where his mother and grandmother cooked daily for approximately 50 employees. His culinary interest was ignited at age 16 during a birthday celebration at the three-star Michelin establishment Auberge de l'Ill.
He pursued formal culinary education through an apprenticeship program at Auberge de l'Ill under the guidance of Chef Paul Haeberlin. Subsequently, he gained experience working alongside renowned French chefs such as Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier at L'Oasis. From 1980 to 1985, frequently collaborating with Outhier, Vongerichten was instrumental in launching ten restaurants across Asia, including sites in Bangkok, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Relocation to America
In 1985, Vongerichten relocated to the United States as a protégé of consulting chef Louis Outhier, debuting Le Marquis de Lafayette in Boston. By 1986, he assumed the role of executive chef at Lafayette within New York’s Drake Swissôtel, where he received four stars from The New York Times at just 29 years old. During this period, he joined forces with investors Bob Giraldi and Phil Suarez to establish the bistro JoJo in 1991. The restaurant was honored as Best New Restaurant of the Year and awarded three stars by The New York Times.
Lawsuit
In September 2008, Vongerichten resolved a $2.2 million legal case brought by employees who claimed that gratuities from several of his restaurants were diverted to managerial staff.
Influence
According to New York in 2005, no chef over the previous twenty years had shaped New York’s dining landscape and culinary culture as profoundly as Vongerichten. Chef Mario Batali remarked that Vongerichten "created America’s interpretation of nouvelle cuisine." His publication Simple Cuisine served as an essential guide for emerging chefs, while his restaurant JoJo became highly coveted.
Vongerichten asserts that he originated the concept of molten chocolate cake in New York City in 1987; however, French chef Jacques Torres contests this claim, maintaining that the dessert existed earlier in France.
Personal life
Vongerichten resides in New York City with his wife, Marja, who is a Korean-American/African-American actress and model. Together they have one daughter. From a previous marriage, he has two grown children: Cedric, who serves as executive chef at Perry Street, and Louise, founder of Chefs Club in New York. Louise is married to Hamdi Ulukaya. He is also a grandfather to three grandchildren and spends weekends at his residence in Waccabuc, New York.
Community activism
Vongerichten is an active member of the Food Council at City Harvest and directs his own nonprofit organization, Food Dreams, which is dedicated to supporting initiatives related to food.
Books
- Home Cooking with Jean-Georges (with co-author Genevieve Ko) (2011)
- Asian Flavorings of Jean-Georges (2007)
- Simple to Spectacular (in collaboration with Mark Bittman) (2000)
- Jean-Georges: Cooking At Home with a Four-Star Chef (co-written with Mark Bittman) (1998)
- Simple Cuisine: The Easy, New Approach to Four-Star Cooking (1991)
Television
In 2011, Vongerichten and his spouse, Marja, introduced the PBS series Kimchi Chronicles, a culinary and travel program filmed in South Korea and New York City.