Culinary background

At fifteen, Boulud earned his first professional recognition; he was a finalist in France's competition for Best Culinary Apprentice. Boulud worked in France with Roger Vergé, Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard and later in Copenhagen before becoming the private chef to the European Commission in Washington, D.C..

Moving to New York City, Boulud opened the Polo Lounge at The Westbury Hotel then Le Régence at the Hotel Plaza Athenée. From 1986 to 1992, he was Executive Chef at Le Cirque. During his tenure, the restaurant became one of the most highly rated in the country.

Restaurants

Boulud set out on his own and opened his restaurant Daniel, in 1993, in Manhattan's Upper East Side. Daniel relocated the restaurant to a new home in 1998: a Venetian renaissance-inspired setting at Park Avenue and 65th Street—premises, in fact, that had once housed Le Cirque. The original Daniel was re-launched as the Café Boulud.

He opened a more casual restaurant in the theater district of Manhattan in 2001: db Bistro Moderne, and in 2003 a second Café Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida. Daniel Boulud Brasserie opened in 2005 inside the Wynn Las Vegas.

In 2004, Boulud crafted the menus for the brand-new Queen Mary 2.

In January 2008, the Chef opened Bar Boulud, a French bistro located across from Lincoln Center in New York City.

He opened Maison Boulud à Pékin in Beijing China in July 2008.

In December 2008, after the departure of founding chef Rob Feenie and minority owner, Boulud reopened Vancouver restaurants Lumière and Feenie's (renaming the latter "db Bistro Moderne", making it the sister restaurant to db Bistro Moderne in Manhattan) as Chef, Consulting Chef and Co-partner. Boulud and his partners closed those two restaurants on 13 March 2011. He opened DBGB Kitchen & Bar, a Pan-European brasserie, in New York City in 2009.

In June 2009, Boulud stated that he wanted to open his next venture in London and that he is currently looking into several options for it. Bar Boulud London opened soon after, on May 29th 2010 inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Knightsbridge, becoming the first Boulud's restaurant in Europe.

Daniel Boulud Brasserie closed on 4 July 2010. Wynn chose not to renew the contract between Boulud & The Resort (see Wynn Las Vegas for more). In 2013, it was confirmed that the restaurant will re-open at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas in Spring of 2014.

In February 2011, Boulud opened a db Bistro Moderne at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

In April 2011, it was announced that Maison Boulud in Ritz-Carlton Montreal would open, a business that Boulud's Dinex Group has been contracted to run.

On 9 May 2011, Boulud Sud opened next door to Bar Boulud, with a focus on Mediterranean cuisine. Although not a restaurant, Épicerie Boulud opened on the same day as a market/deli.

dbar opened on 5 October 2012. The lounge is housed in the flagship Four Seasons Hotel Toronto.

Bar Boulud Boston opened on 16 September 2014. The restaurant is housed in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Boston.

Awards

Not long after opening, restaurant Daniel was rated one of the top ten restaurants in the world by the International Herald Tribune. He was named Chef of the Year by Bon Appétit, and Daniel received Gourmet's Top Table Award, a four-star rating from the New York Times, Wine Spectator's Grand Award, and New York City's top ratings for cuisine, service and decor in the Zagat Survey.

Boulud received the James Beard Award for Best Chef of New York City in 1992 while Executive Chef at Le Cirque. The James Beard Foundation would again recognize Chef Daniel Boulud with “Outstanding Chef of the Year” in 1994 and “Outstanding Restaurateur” in 2006 for restaurant Daniel. In April 2007 he received the Culinary Humanitarian Award at the United Nations from the Adopt-a-Mine Field Foundation. The President of France made Boulud a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in March 2006 in recognition for his contribution to the advancement of French culture.

Daniel, his flagship New York City namesake, was awarded three Michelin stars in the 2010 Michelin, the book's highest rating. In January 2013, Daniel NYC was inducted into Culinary Hall of Fame.

In the 2015 Michelin Guide, Daniel, Boulud's main New York City restaurant, lost its third Michelin star. Michelin Guide director Michael Ellis cited "a lack of consistency" as the reason for the decision.

Television

Boulud also hosts "After Hours with Daniel" a behind-closed-doors look at the late night dinners, by chefs and for chefs. The high definition TV series reveals where chefs go to unwind after a night behind the stove and uncovers the far out foods they crave and cook for each other. Boulud recently completed filming the third season of the show, which features restaurants in the New Orleans and Miami culinary scene. The first season was filmed in New York City restaurants and the second, on the West Coast, in Los Angeles restaurants.

Chef Boulud has been a featured chef on Great Chefs television.

Boulud was also featured in the second season finale of the Canadian television program Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag, where his cookbook "Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City" was being tested. Boulud appeared as the guest judge along with chefs from his restaurants located in Vancouver: Stephane Istel, executive chef at DB Bistro Moderne & Dale MacKay, executive chef at Lumière. Boulud's cookbook received the "A & K Stamp of Approval" at the end of the episode.

Boulud appeared as a guest judge in Season 1 and 3 of Top Chef Canada.

Community Involvement

Daniel Boulud works to support several charities focusing his efforts on hunger relief and culinary education. He has been an active member of the board of directors of Citymeals-on-Wheels, a non-profit organization that provides home-delivered, nutritious meals to frail, homebound elderly in New York City, since 2003 and hosts an annual gala for the charity each spring. On 13 April 2008 Daniel Boulud hosted an intimate Sunday supper to mark the 10th anniversary of Savoring Citymeals—an annual gourmet event he has hosted since 1998.

The Daniel Boulud Scholarship Endowment Fund was established by the chef’s business partner, Joel Smilow, in 2005. The fund serves to provide continuing education enabling promising young American cooks to pursue professional culinary studies in France.

In 2008, Paul Bocuse asked Boulud to establish a structure for the selection of the Bocuse d'Or Team USA, who along with Thomas Keller and Jérôme Bocuse form the Board of Directors of the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation. The first Bocuse d'Or USA competition was held in September 2008.

Mr. Boulud settled with the workers, seven current and former employees of Latin American and Bangladeshi descent, for $80,000 and agreed to set up standards and procedures for promotions to be overseen by the EEOC & the state attorney general’s office.

Books

• Cooking with Daniel Boulud (1993)
• Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud Cookbook (1999)
• In 2001, Boulud allowed author Leslie Brenner near unlimited access to Daniel the result was the 2002 book The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant which gives some insight into the workings of the chef and how he operates.
• Daniel Boulud Cooking in New York City (2002)
• Daniel’s Dish, Entertaining at Home with a Four Star Chef (2003)
• Letters to a Young Chef (2003)
• Braise: a Journey Through International Cuisine (2006)
• DANIEL My French Cuisine by Daniel Boulud (Author), Sylvie Bigar (Author), Thomas Schauer (Photographer), Bill Buford (Contributor) (2013), Making Of Video: https://vimeo.com/77307136

[ Source: Wikipedia ]