Daniel Boulud
Perhaps my favorite chef of all, Chef Daniel Boulud finds joy in food in ways that few people do these days.
We had the joyous opportunity to dine at Daniel in NYC in November of 2016. Chef was gracious enough to let us in from the rain (we could only get one of the first reservations of the night and the doors were not yet open). He explained that they were not yet open but that they would be very soon.
The Meal
The meal was nothing less than divine. We had dined at several of his other restaurants before this, but nothing prepared us for what was to come. My husband was introduced to #laminatedbrioche for the first time, and is still talking about it 3 years later (I guess I should figure out how to make it...). But look at that flakiness! How can you not want it?
But that was not the end of it. The meal continued on, hitting on every note. They managed to use classic French technique in ways that I had never seen. The pig crisp blew my mind! And the mosaic dish was so inspiring, I went right back to my Garde Manger class and challenged them to create something like it for their Grand Buffet (and they did!).
But with Daniel, it is more than just his food. Most Chefs these days seem to have rock star-sized egos thanks to the advent of all the cooking shows (even if they have never been on one).
My absolute favorite part about Chef Boulud is that he genuinely seems to enjoy not only cooking, but also feeding people. I was lucky enough to get to tour his kitchen, meet Chef himself and get him to autograph my menu. He signed it "Thank you for being a fan of my food". Such humility! Made me love him even more and now I am SUCH a #fangirl of #chefboulud! Enjoy the photos of his lovely food...