Thierry Rautureau

Thierry Rautureau
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Occupation Award-Winning Chef / Owner
Known for
  • Contestant on Top Chef Masters: Seasons 2 & 4
  • Co-Host of “In The Kitchen with Tom and Thierry” with Chef Tom Douglas
Website www.thechefinthehat.com

Culinary career

Thierry Rautureau nicknamed The Chef In The Hat, is the chef/owner of restaurants, Loulay and Luc, in Seattle, Washington. Rautureau was born in the town Loulay in the Muscadet region of France. He apprenticed in Anjou, France, and at twenty moved to the United States to work at several fine restaurants. He became the chef/owner of Rover’s Restaurant in 1987, and before closing its doors in 2013; it helped make him one of the most recognizable chefs around Seattle. Rautureau has won various awards including the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest in 1998, and has been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre Du Mérite Agricole by the French government. In 2010, Rautureau opened Luc, a French-American café and bar. Then in 2013, opened Loulay Kitchen & Bar, a French-inspired restaurant that balances the upscale aura of Rover’s with the cozy country-style cooking he enjoyed growing up on the farm in France. He has cooked for such well-known figures as Hillary Clinton, Francis Ford Coppola, Jackson Browne, and Julia Child.

Early life

Thierry Rautureau hails from the town of Saint Hilaire de Clisson in the Muscadet region of France. His parents were farmers in a small agricultural community where the cows and chickens outnumbered the people. The family cooked only what they grew, thus providing a purely seasonal diet. As the oldest child, Rautureau was given the chore of doing the prep for dinner; and as such he quickly became acquainted with fresh homegrown ingredients at a young age.[1]

Early career

At fourteen, Rautureau started a cooking apprenticeship in Anjou, France and at sixteen went on a Regional Tour de France and trained in the cities of Le Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, Chamonix in the French Alps, and Hendaye in the Pays Basque. At twenty, after six years of traditional French training, Rautureau headed for the United States and took his professional experience to La Fontaine with Jean Claude Poilevey in Chicago. After three years in Chicago, Rautureau moved to Los Angeles where he worked at the Regency Club with Joachim Splichal, and then The Seventh Street Bistro with Laurent Quenioux.[1]

Restaurants

Loulay Kitchen & Bar

In 2013, Chef Thierry Rautureau opened Loulay Kitchen & Bar in the heart of downtown Seattle. Named for Chef Thierry Rautureau’s hometown of Saint Hilaire de Loulay in France, Loulay provides the ambiance and elegant decor that has come to be expected from the Chef in the hat restaurants while providing the humble tastes of home cooked French cuisine. Located at the bottom of the Sheraton Hotel in the epicenter of Seattle's downtown shopping district, Loulay offers delicious French cuisine with a splash of the Pacific Northwest. The menu delivers dishes with the perfect balance of comforting tastes inspired from the farm table Rautureau grew up around and the exquisite, fresh seafood that only the Pacific Northwest can provide; such as seared albacore served with leek fondue, burdock root purée, and hearts of palm.

In 2014, Loulay received press from both local and nationally known sources. Highlights include; being named "Best Restaurant of 2014" by Seattle Met Magazine [2] and Thrillist mentions on "Seattle's 10 best new burgers of 2014",[3] "The 21 best new restaurants in America",[4] "Seattle's 11 best new restaurants of 2014",[5] & "Winter Restaurant (and Bar!) Preview: 7 Seattle places to get excited about".[6]

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Luc Restaurant

Luc Restaurant

In 2010, Rautureau opened Luc, a casual French-American café and bar named after the his late father, Luc Rautureau.[7] Being primarily local, seasonal and sustainable, Luc’s food is heavily influenced by the French comfort food Rautureau grew up eating on his parents’ farm.[1]

In order to raise money to open Luc, the established chef pre-sold gift certificates. Interested parties were offered three gift certificates valued at $435, which could be used over the course of three years for $1,000. The names of these "Founding Diners" are now featured in Luc on bronze plaques.[8]

The two paintings in the dining room are both artistic interpretations of old Rautureau family photographs, one of Rautureau as a boy and another of his parents as a young couple, which were rendered by a Seattle-based French artist named Isa Darleans.[8]

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Rover's Restaurant

Rover's Restaurant

While visiting Seattle in 1987, Rautureau dined at Rover’s and discovered that the restaurant was for sale. He decided to buy the restaurant so that he could express his culinary creativity as the chef/owner while enjoying the Pacific Northwest.

Rautureau says of his cooking philosophy: “it starts with freshness and continues with treating all ingredients with attention.” He identifies the cuisine at Rover’s as “Northwest contemporary with a French accent.” His cuisine also contains Mediterranean overtones and various Asian elements. Overall his cuisine is aligned with the philosophy of "food as art".[1] Rover's closed its doors on June 23, 2013.

Awards and recognition

Since Rautureau opened Rover's in 1987, the restaurant and chef have received local and national press recognition. Articles have appeared in such publications as Time Magazine, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The Wine Spectator, Food Arts, Vancouver Magazine, Seattle Magazine,[9] the New York Times, Sunset, USA Today, Seattle Times’ Pacific Magazine, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Fortune, Business Week, and Art Culinaire. He has also been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre Du Mérite Agricole by the French Government and the award for The Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest by the James Beard Foundation.[10]

In addition, pieces about Luc have been printed in several publications including Seattle Magazine,[11] Seattle Metropolitan,[12] and the Seattle Weekly.[13]

Loulay Kitchen & Bar was named Best New Restaurant of 2014 by Seattle Met Magazine[2] and received national recognition in publications such as Thrillist articles; "Seattle's 10 best new burgers of 2014",[3] "The 21 best new restaurants in America",[4] "Seattle's 11 best new restaurants of 2014",[5] & "Winter Restaurant (and Bar!) Preview: 7 Seattle places to get excited about".[6]

List of awards

Television and radio appearances

From 2003 to 2010, Rautureau was the co-host of the talk radio show “In The Kitchen with Tom and Thierry” with fellow chef Tom Douglas on KIRO 97.3FM.[16] The two chefs conducted interviews with people in the food world, recounted recipes, gave a wine of the week and discussed food in the news.

In 2012, Rautureau and Douglas returned to KIRO Radio with "Seattle Kitchen," heard Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 10am on 97.3 FM in Seattle. After a few months of ratings success, the show was extended to two hours.

On television, Rautureau was featured on the Food Network's“Dining Around”[17] and “Ready, Set, Cook!," Ming Tsai's “Simply Ming,”[18] the PBS Series “French Fest,"[19] and the Discovery Channel series “ Great Chefs from the Great Cities."[20] Rautureau has also been a celebrity chef judge for the PBS series “MasterChef USA."[21]

Rautureau's most well-known television appearance is as a contestant on the second season of the Bravo reality series Top Chef Masters.[22] Rautureau competed against Monica Pope (T'afia), Carmen González (Chef Consultant), David Burke (David Burke Townhouse), and the eventual winner of the season, Marcus Samuelsson (Red Rooster, Aquavit) in the second episode entitled "Top Chef Masters Season 2: It's My Party."[23] The challenge for the chefs was to cook a meal inspired by soul food for actor Mekhi Phifer's birthday party.[23] González and Samuelsson advanced, while Pope, Rautureau and Burke were eliminated.[23]

In 2012, Rautureau returned as a contestant on season four of Top Chef Masters. He made it to the fifth round before being eliminated.

In July 2013, Chef Rautureau participated in the making of reality YouTube series, Kitchen Circus. Three home cooks make one course for 45 diners. Chef Thierry Rautureau guides contestants from cooking through service. Will it be Angel, Siri or Beth who makes the diner's favorite course? Celebrity Guests include: Tom Douglas (Seattle Restaurateur), Steve Scher (NPR Radio Host), Marty Riemer (Radio Host). The series had a total of 4 episodes concluded with a finale. Watch all the episodes, here.

TV programming channel KCTS9 produced a behind-the-scenes interview with Chef Thierry Rautureau which was put out on Nov. 3, 2014. Take a look at the full interview.

Community involvement

Rautureau is on the Board of Directors for Food Lifeline,[24] a Western Washington non-profit that provides food to 675,000 people through food banks, hot meal programs, shelters, and more.[25] Rautureau also participates in various other community and charity events and fundraisers, such as the opening of the Dale Turner YMCA in Shoreline, WA.[26]

Personal life

Rautureau is married to Kathleen Encell-Rautureau, a floral designer who also does arrangements for the restaurants. She was also the impetus for the chef's nickname. It was Kathy who gave Rautureau a fedora for Christmas, which he wore almost unceasingly. One evening, Rautureau entered the dining room at Rover's to speak with a guest without removing his hat. The guest exclaimed: “Look, it’s the Chef in the Hat!." Other guests overheard the comment, and the phrase eventually became his nickname.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Story of the Chef in the Hat." The Chef in the Hat. 2010. Web
  2. 1 2 3 Robinson, Kathryn. "Best Restaurant of 2014: Loulay". Seattle Met. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Kasinger, Chona. "Seattle's 10 best new burgers of 2014". Thrillist. Retrieved 11 November 1014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 Alexander, Kevin, Childers, Liz. "The 21 best new restaurants in America". Thrillist. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 Kasinger, Chona. "Seattle's 11 best new restaurants of 2014". Thrillist. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Kasinger, Chona. "Winter Restaurant (and Bar!) Preview: 7 Seattle places to get excited about". Thrillist. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  7. ↑ Chou, Hsiao-Ching."Chef Rautureau Shares a Final Lunch with Pappy." Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 15 June 2005. 2010. Web.
  8. 1 2 Hambley, Nathan "Rautureau’s Luc Brings French-Spirited Kitchen and Bar to Seattle’s Madison Valley." May 2009. Frause. Print.
  9. ↑ "Best Eats in the Best Neighborhoods." Seattle Magazine. 2010. Web
  10. ↑ "1998 Best Chef: Pacific Northwest." The James Beard Foundation. 2009.
  11. ↑ "Best Restaurants '10: Restaurants to Watch." Seattle Magazine. 2010. Web.
  12. ↑ Robinson, Kathryn. "Luc's Place: A new bistro puts hospitality and great food at the top of the menu." Seattle Metropolitan August 2010. Web.
  13. ↑ The Surly Gourmand. "Eating at Luc is Cheaper Than Funding NASA." Seattle Weekly 11 June 2010. Web.
  14. ↑ Staff, Zagat. "The 25 Most Important Restaurants of 2013". Zagat. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "Rover's Restaurant." Zagat. 2010. Web. .
  16. ↑ "In the Kitchen with Tom and Thierry." MyNorthwest.com. 2010. Web
  17. ↑ Webster, Kerry. "Fresh Today." The Seattle Times. 29 May 1996. 2010. Web.
  18. ↑ "Simply Ming." KQED TV. 2010. Web
  19. ↑ Hinterberger, John. "Rover's Thierry -- It's Likely This Madison Valley Chef Is Better Known In New York City." The Seattle Times. 1996. 2010. Web.
  20. ↑ Hinterberger, Jerry. "New Bites." The Seattle Times. 10 August 1995. 2010. Web.
  21. ↑ "MasterChef USA TV Show." Film.com 2008. Web
  22. ↑ "Top Chef Masters." Bravo TV. 2010. Web
  23. 1 2 3 "It's My Party." Bravo TV. 2010. Web
  24. ↑ "Our Board of Directors." Food Lifeline. 2009. Web
  25. ↑ Food Lifeline. 2009. Web
  26. ↑ Ramirez, Marc. "Community Turns Out for Dale Turner YMCA Grand Opening." The Seattle Times 5 October 2008. Web.
  27. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions." The Chef in the Hat. 2010. Web
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