Culinary virtuouso BY GINA GOUVEIA
THE SMALL HAMLET OF KATONAH CAN NOW BOAST OF BEING HOME TO A CELEBRITY CHEF OF THE MEGAWATT VARIETY, AND ONE OF THE GREATEST CHEFS TO EVER COME OUT OF LYON, FRANCE: DANIEL BOULUD. For the past two years, Boulud, his wife, Katherine, and their two young children — he also has an adult daughter, Alix, who was married this past year — have been settling into their country home. “I wanted something far enough away from New York but not too far,” he says during a recent interview in the chef’s skybox, overlooking the humming kitchen of his eponymous flagship, Daniel, on East 65th Street in Manhattan. Rather than jumping right into his backstory, we start with a free-wheeling discussion of some establishments that formerly had their heydays in the hills of northern Westchester, like the Box Tree Inn, a luxe inn and restaurant under the stewardship of an eclectic Bulgarian he knew well, Augustin Paege, in Purdys. This brief glimpse back to local lore with someone who has reached the top of his ranks is delightfully indulgent and unexpected. So, what are the places he and his family frequent? There’s The Whitlock over by the Katonah train station, and The Reading Room for coffee and interesting wares, he tells me, also in town. He’s a fan of Dave DiBari’s places, The Cookery and The Parlour. In the neighborhood of Daniel in Manhattan, where he maintains a residence above the restaurant, he likes JoJo, Jean-Georges’ cozy townhouse restaurant, for Sunday dinner, Mezzaluna for pizza, Yasuda for sushi and Casa Enrique, a popular
spot in Queens, for authentic Mexican. But, don’t get the impression that this chef is kicking back too much. He tells me that some of his clients host him frequently at their clubs to play golf, something he took up later on in his career. When I inquire about his game, he responds, “How would it look if I told you I was a scratch golfer? People would think I wasn’t paying attention to my restaurants.” And Boulud is a chef and restaurateur who pays meticulous attention to every aspect of his operations — his faithful clientele, back and front of the house employees, menus, vendor relationships and we haven’t even begun a discussion of his philanthropic endeavors. Time is a precious commodity on his schedule, but one he shares generously. Meeting with Boulud on Giving Tuesday, the day set aside to encourage charitable giving through social media, we turn to his own philanthropy, before getting to that backstory or talk of his empire. On the world culinary stage, the talent, artistry, success and status he has achieved is matched only by his humanitarianism, one of the key ingredients that make him great. He becomes especially animated when talking about the organizations he supports and the programs he has developed for young chefs. More than 20 years ago, Boulud saw the need to join the ranks of New Yorkers committed to giving
Chef Daniel Boulud preparing to serve a meal to friends at his home. Photograph by Thomas Schauer.
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WAGMAG.COM
JANUARY 2019
Dan