Roland Passot
Encyclopedia
French-born chef Roland Passot, owner of the La Folie and the more casual, Left Bank Brasseries, was named one of "the eight wonders of Bay Area dining" by San Francisco Chronicle
lead critic Michael Bauer.
, in France's Rhône-Alpes
. He is a classically trained French chef
, having attended cooking school
in Lyon while beginning as an assistant, at age fourteen, in the city's Léon de Lyon restaurant under Chef Paul Lacombe, and then Pierre Orsi Restaurant. After Passot rose to the rank of assistant sous-chef at Léon de Lyon, Jean Banchet (who Passot considers his most important influence) recruited him in 1979 to work at Le Francais in Wheeling, Illinois
(near Chicago, Illinois | Chicago), then sent him in 1981 to open the French Room at the Adolphus Hotel
in Dallas, Texas
(He was fired from the French Room after getting into a shouting match with its maitre d'). In between, he opened Le Castel in San Francisco.
in 1988, with his wife Jamie and brother Georges. A small brasserie in the Polk Gulch section of the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, it opened at a cost of $45,000 with no outside investors. His wife conceived the name, which means "craziness" or "folly" in French, referring to the difficulty of opening a new establishment in San Francisco's competitive restaurant scene. Still a family business, his brother serves as sommelier
, and his wife as General Manager
.
Instantly successful, La Folie steadily gained in reputation and refinement until by 2000 it was one of only several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area
, California, to earn a "four star" review from the San Francisco Chronicle, from the city's most recognized food critic
. It still had that distinction as of 2008. Avoiding "fusion" influences, the establishment is a conventional contemporary French restaurant, with classic French use of stocks and sauces but lighter than traditional French and with attention to local ingredients.
Despite the restaurant's renown it was not significantly profitable due to small size, low number of "turns", and high ingredient and operation cost (with 24 employees for 60-70 seats, and 2 to 3 hour reservation slots at an average "tab" of $75 per guest, it grossed only $1.7 million in 1998). In 1994, with partner Ed Levine, a Stanford Business School graduate who had been CFO of the Il Fornaio
chain, Passot opened the much larger (220 seat) Left Bank restaurant in Larkspur, California
, as a more casual alternative to La Folie. The second Left Bank opened in Menlo Park, California
in 1998, and then San Jose
in 2003. Left Banks are warm, vibrant brasseries offering quality french inspired cuisine. The restaurants serve a style of home-style cooking Passot calls "Cuisine Grand-mere". In 2009 the Left Bank restaurant group opened LB Steak, a modern American Steakhouse, in San Jose's premier Santana Row
. LB Steak is a casually elegant American Steakhouse reflecting the distinctive charm of Santana Row's surroundings and neighbors. Featuring USDA Prime Beef, they are known for a diverse selection of 10 prime steaks and Sunday night Prime Rib dinners.
, molecular gastronomy
, and new devices or techniques such as sous vide. Passot has a reputation for hiring and mentoring young academy-trained chefs. A number of successful restaurant chefs credit Passot as a mentor, or as inspiration, including Richard Reddington, the Michelin starred Chef of REDD in Yountville, CA. Jeffrey Russell, Executive Chef at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City
, Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, California, and Michael Kramer, formerly of McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
and (as of 2008) of Voice Restaurant in Houston, Texas
In 1991 Passot was inducted into the Maitres Cuisiniers de France. His restaurant won the Zagat Survey
awards for "Best Food" and "Best Nouvelle French restaurant" in 1998, and "Best French restaurant" in San Francisco, in 2002. He also earned a James Beard Award as "best rising star chef" of 1980, and other "best" designations and awards from USA Today
, Food & Wine Magazine
, Gourmet magazine, Gault Millau
, and SF Weekly
. In 2001 the French Government
awarded him the "Chevalier dans l’Ordre du Mèrite Agricole".
A local caviar
producer, Tsar Nicoulai, has named a product after him.
in Irving, Texas
. Known for being gregarious and social, Passot is a frequent participant in cooking shows and demonstrations, charity events, and television appearances. After gaining weight from the stress of managing his restaurants, he lost 60 pounds by eliminating alcohol, sugar, and starches from his diet.
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
lead critic Michael Bauer.
Early life and career
Passot was born in 1955 in Villefranche-sur-SaôneVillefranche-sur-Saône
Villefranche-sur-Saône is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.It lies 1 mile west of the Saône River, and is around north of Lyon...
, in France's Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes
Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...
. He is a classically trained French chef
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
, having attended cooking school
Cooking school
A cooking school or culinary school is an institution devoted to education in the art and science of food preparation. It also awards degrees which indicate that a student has undergone a particular curriculum and therefore displays a certain level of competency...
in Lyon while beginning as an assistant, at age fourteen, in the city's Léon de Lyon restaurant under Chef Paul Lacombe, and then Pierre Orsi Restaurant. After Passot rose to the rank of assistant sous-chef at Léon de Lyon, Jean Banchet (who Passot considers his most important influence) recruited him in 1979 to work at Le Francais in Wheeling, Illinois
Wheeling, Illinois
Wheeling is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 34,496 at the 2000 census, and 38,555 at the 2006 special village census.-Geography:Wheeling is located at ....
(near Chicago, Illinois | Chicago), then sent him in 1981 to open the French Room at the Adolphus Hotel
Adolphus Hotel
The Hotel Adolphus is an upscale hotel and Dallas Landmark in the Main Street District of downtown Dallas, Texas which was for several years the tallest building in the state of Texas.- History :...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
(He was fired from the French Room after getting into a shouting match with its maitre d'). In between, he opened Le Castel in San Francisco.
Restaurants
Passot opened La Folie on Polk StreetPolk Street
Polk Street is a street in San Francisco, California, that travels northward from Market Street to Beach Street and is one of the main thoroughfares of the Polk Gulch neighborhood traversing through the Tenderloin, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill neighborhoods. The street takes its name from former U.S....
in 1988, with his wife Jamie and brother Georges. A small brasserie in the Polk Gulch section of the Russian Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, it opened at a cost of $45,000 with no outside investors. His wife conceived the name, which means "craziness" or "folly" in French, referring to the difficulty of opening a new establishment in San Francisco's competitive restaurant scene. Still a family business, his brother serves as sommelier
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
, and his wife as General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
.
Instantly successful, La Folie steadily gained in reputation and refinement until by 2000 it was one of only several restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, California, to earn a "four star" review from the San Francisco Chronicle, from the city's most recognized food critic
Food critic
The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used interchangeably, at least in some circumstances...
. It still had that distinction as of 2008. Avoiding "fusion" influences, the establishment is a conventional contemporary French restaurant, with classic French use of stocks and sauces but lighter than traditional French and with attention to local ingredients.
Despite the restaurant's renown it was not significantly profitable due to small size, low number of "turns", and high ingredient and operation cost (with 24 employees for 60-70 seats, and 2 to 3 hour reservation slots at an average "tab" of $75 per guest, it grossed only $1.7 million in 1998). In 1994, with partner Ed Levine, a Stanford Business School graduate who had been CFO of the Il Fornaio
Il Fornaio
Il Fornaio is a chain of twenty-two Italian-themed fine dining restaurants operating primarily in California in the United States. Il Fornaio also operates 2 bakeries in California.-History:...
chain, Passot opened the much larger (220 seat) Left Bank restaurant in Larkspur, California
Larkspur, California
Larkspur is a city in Marin County, California, United States. Larkspur is located south of San Rafael, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 Census, the city's population was 11,926. Larkspur is located north of San Francisco near Mount Tamalpais. Larkspur's Police Department is shared with that...
, as a more casual alternative to La Folie. The second Left Bank opened in Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
in 1998, and then San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
in 2003. Left Banks are warm, vibrant brasseries offering quality french inspired cuisine. The restaurants serve a style of home-style cooking Passot calls "Cuisine Grand-mere". In 2009 the Left Bank restaurant group opened LB Steak, a modern American Steakhouse, in San Jose's premier Santana Row
Santana Row
Santana Row is an upscale shopping, residential, dining and entertainment complex in San Jose, California. Westfield Valley Fair is located just to its north, on the other side of Stevens Creek Boulevard, and the Winchester Mystery House just to the west, across Winchester Boulevard.- Stores...
. LB Steak is a casually elegant American Steakhouse reflecting the distinctive charm of Santana Row's surroundings and neighbors. Featuring USDA Prime Beef, they are known for a diverse selection of 10 prime steaks and Sunday night Prime Rib dinners.
Influence and awards
In style, Passot favors contemporary French cuisine, avoiding fusionFusion cuisine
Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not being categorized per any one particular cuisine style, and can pertain to innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s.-Categories and types:...
, molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy
Molecular gastronomy is a subdiscipline of food science that seeks to investigate, explain and make practical use of the physical and chemical transformations of ingredients that occur while cooking, as well as the social, artistic and technical components of culinary and gastronomic phenomena in...
, and new devices or techniques such as sous vide. Passot has a reputation for hiring and mentoring young academy-trained chefs. A number of successful restaurant chefs credit Passot as a mentor, or as inspiration, including Richard Reddington, the Michelin starred Chef of REDD in Yountville, CA. Jeffrey Russell, Executive Chef at The Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Trey Foshee of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, California, and Michael Kramer, formerly of McCrady’s Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
and (as of 2008) of Voice Restaurant in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
In 1991 Passot was inducted into the Maitres Cuisiniers de France. His restaurant won the Zagat Survey
Zagat Survey
Zagat Survey was established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979 as a way to collect and correlate the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering New York City, the Zagats surveyed their friends. As of 2005, the Zagat Survey included 70 cities, with reviews based on the input of...
awards for "Best Food" and "Best Nouvelle French restaurant" in 1998, and "Best French restaurant" in San Francisco, in 2002. He also earned a James Beard Award as "best rising star chef" of 1980, and other "best" designations and awards from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Food & Wine Magazine
Food & Wine Magazine
Food & Wine is a monthly magazine published by American Express Publishing. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and seasonal/holiday content and has been credited by The New York...
, Gourmet magazine, Gault Millau
Gault Millau
Gault et Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Gault Millau is most famous for its rating system, on a scale of 1 to 20. Restaurants below 10 points are almost never listed...
, and SF Weekly
SF Weekly
SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village Voice and the Los...
. In 2001 the French Government
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
awarded him the "Chevalier dans l’Ordre du Mèrite Agricole".
A local caviar
Caviar
Caviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value....
producer, Tsar Nicoulai, has named a product after him.
Personal life
Passot met his wife, Jamie, when she was working at the Four Seasons ResortFour Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a Canadian-based international ultra-luxury, five-star hotel management company. Travel + Leisure magazine and Zagat Survey rank the hotel chain's 84 properties among the top luxury hotels worldwide...
in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
. Known for being gregarious and social, Passot is a frequent participant in cooking shows and demonstrations, charity events, and television appearances. After gaining weight from the stress of managing his restaurants, he lost 60 pounds by eliminating alcohol, sugar, and starches from his diet.
External links
- lafolie.com - official La Folie site
- leftbank.com - official Left Bank site
- tanglewood.com - official Tanglewood site