Thierry Rautureau
Encyclopedia
Thierry Rautureau, nicknamed The Chef In The Hat, is the chef/owner of Rover's and Luc Restaurants in Seattle, Washington. Rautureau was born in the Muscadet region of France, 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 since 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. He has cooked for such well-known figures as Hillary Clinton, Francis Ford Coppola
, Jackson Browne
, and Julia Child
.
. 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.
, 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.
.
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"
.
parents’ farm.
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.
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.
, Food & Wine
, Bon Appetit
, The Wine Spectator, Food Arts, Vancouver Magazine
, Seattle Magazine, 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
.
In addition, pieces about Luc have been printed in several publications including Seattle Magazine, Seattle Metropolitan
, and the Seattle Weekly
.
on KIRO 97.3FM. 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.
On television, Rautureau was featured on the Food Network's
“Dining Around” and “Ready, Set, Cook!," Ming Tsai's
“Simply Ming,” the PBS Series “French Fest," and the Discovery Channel
series “ Great Chefs from the Great Cities
." Rautureau has also been a celebrity chef judge for the PBS series “MasterChef USA
."
Rautureau's most well-known television appearance is as a contestant on the second season of the Bravo reality series Top Chef Masters
. 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." The challenge for the chefs was to cook a meal inspired by soul food
for actor Mekhi Phifer's
birthday party. González and Samuelsson advanced, while Pope, Rautureau and Burke were eliminated.
non-profit
that provides food to 675,000 people through food bank
s, hot meal programs, shelters, and more. Rautureau also participates in various other community and charity events and fundraisers, such as the opening of the Dale Turner YMCA in Shoreline, WA.
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
, and Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
.
Early life
Thierry Rautureau hails from the town of Saint Hilaire de Clisson in the Muscadet region of FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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.
Early career
At fourteen, Rautureau started a cooking apprenticeship in AnjouAnjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
, France and at sixteen went on a Regional Tour de France and trained in the cities of Le Mont Saint Michel in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, Chamonix in the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
, and Hendaye in the Pays Basque. At twenty, after six years of traditional French training, Rautureau headed for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and took his professional experience to La Fontaine with Jean Claude Poilevey in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. After three years in Chicago, Rautureau moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where he worked at the Regency Club with Joachim Splichal
Joachim Splichal
Joachim Splichal is a celebrity chef based in Los Angeles, California. In 1991 he was declared “Best California Chef” by the James Beard Foundation. Four years later in 1995 he was inducted into their “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America"...
, and then The Seventh Street Bistro with Laurent Quenioux.
Rover's Restaurant
While visiting Seattle in 1987, Rautureau dined at Rover’s and discovered that the restaurant was up for sale. He decided to buy the restaurant so that he could express his culinary creativity as the chef/owner while enjoying the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
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"
Culinary art
Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking. A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are...
.
Luc Restaurant
In 2010, Rautureau opened Luc, a casual French-American café and bar named after the his late father, Luc Rautureau. Being primarily local, seasonal and sustainable, Luc’s food is heavily influenced by the French comfort food Rautureau grew up eating on hisparents’ farm.
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.
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.
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, GourmetGourmet (magazine)
Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. Founded by Earle R. MacAusland and first published in 1941, Gourmet also covered "good living" on a wider scale....
, Food & Wine
Food & Wine
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...
, Bon Appetit
Bon Appétit
Bon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
, The Wine Spectator, Food Arts, Vancouver Magazine
Vancouver Magazine
Vancouver Magazine is an English-language lifestyle magazine focused on Vancouver, British Columbia and the Lower Mainland.Vancouver Magazine describes its mission as informing, guiding and entertaining residents of a "dynamic, international city."...
, Seattle Magazine, the New York Times, Sunset
Sunset (magazine)
Sunset is a lifestyle magazine in the United States. Sunset focuses on homes, cooking, gardening, and travel, with a focus almost exclusively on the Western United States...
, 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...
, Seattle Times’ Pacific Magazine, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Fortune
Fortune (magazine)
Fortune is a global business magazine published by Time Inc. Founded by Henry Luce in 1930, the publishing business, consisting of Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, grew to become Time Warner. In turn, AOL grew as it acquired Time Warner in 2000 when Time Warner was the world's largest...
, Business Week, and Art Culinaire. He has also been awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre Du Mérite Agricole
Mérite agricole
The Ordre National du Mérite Agricole is an order of merit established in France on 7 July 1883 by Minister of Agriculture Jules Méline to reward services to agriculture...
by the French Government and the award for The Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest by the James Beard Foundation
James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
.
In addition, pieces about Luc have been printed in several publications including Seattle Magazine, Seattle Metropolitan
Seattle Metropolitan
Seattle Metropolitan, or Seattle Met, is a monthly, local magazine for Seattle, Washington. Its first issue was published in March 2006 and features reporting and feature articles on Seattle events, people, dining and restaurants, popular places and attractions.-Staff:Editor-in-chief Katherine...
, and the Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
.
List of Awards
- Seattle’s Top Food: Zagat 1993-2009
- Best Service in Seattle: Zagat 2002-2009
- Outstanding Food and Service: DiRoNa 1997-2005
- Distinguished Dining Ambassador: DiRoNA 2002
- Four Stars: Mobil Travel Guide 1998-2008
- Award Of Excellence: The Wine Spectator 1997-2002, 2008
- Best Chef in the Pacific Northwest: The James Beard Foundation Awards 1998
- Four Diamond Award: AAA 1998-2008
- Number One Top Seattle Choice: Gourmet Magazine 1996, 1998, 2000
- Restaurant of the Year, Readers’ Choice Award: Seattle Magazine 1998
- Top Fine Dining Restaurant in Seattle: The Wine Spectator 1998
- Best French Food in Seattle: Food & Wine September 1998
- Fine Dining Hall of Fame Award: Nations Restaurant News 1998
- Best Overall, Critics’ Choice Award: Seattle Magazine 2000, 2001
- Best Overall, Editors’ Choice Award: Where Magazine 2001
- Best Restaurant, Chefs’ Choice Award: Where Magazine 2001
- Best Seattle Restaurant: Northwest Palate Magazine 2000
- Best Overall Dining, Visitors’ Choice: Where Magazine 2002
- Best Washington Wine Reserve: Washington Wine Restaurant Awards 2003, 2004,2005
- Best Service, Readers’ Choice Award: Seattle Magazine 1999
- Best of Award Of Excellence: The Wine Spectator 2003, 2004, 2005
- Best Restaurant, Chefs’ Choice Award: Where Magazine 2004
- Best Overall Dining, Visitors’ Choice: Where Magazine 2004
- Best Service: Washington Wine Restaurant Awards 2004
- Best Restaurant in Seattle: CitysearchCitysearchCitysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city guides will find contact information, maps, driving...
2002 - Top Ten Best: Seattle Magazine 2005
- Best Romantic Restaurant: AOLAOLAOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
City Guide 2005 - Best All-Around Restaurant: AOL City Guide 2005
- Thierry’s Induction Into: Les Maitres Cuisiniers de France 1998
- Chevalier de l’Ordre Du Mérite Agricole: The French Government 2004
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 DouglasTom Douglas
Tom Douglas is an American chef, restaurateur, and writer who won the 1994 James Beard Award for Best Northwest Chef.Born in Newark, Delaware, his first restaurant, Dahlia Lounge, opened in 1989. This was followed by Etta's Seafood and Palace Kitchen, which was nominated for Best New Restaurant by...
on KIRO 97.3FM. 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.
On television, Rautureau was featured on the Food Network's
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
“Dining Around” and “Ready, Set, Cook!," Ming Tsai's
Ming Tsai
Ming Tsai is a Chinese-American fusion cuisine chef, restaurateur, and Emmy Award-winning television personality.Tsai currently hosts Ming's Quest, a cooking show featured on the Fine Living Network, and Simply Ming on American Public Television...
“Simply Ming,” the PBS Series “French Fest," and the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
series “ Great Chefs from the Great Cities
Great Chefs
Great Chefs is a franchise of cooking shows and cookbooks that began with thirteen half hour programs produced for the American Public Broadcasting Service entitled Great Chefs of New Orleans...
." Rautureau has also been a celebrity chef judge for the PBS series “MasterChef USA
MasterChef USA
MasterChef is a 2010 American competitive cooking reality show, open to amateur and home chefs. It is co-hosted and co-produced by Gordon Ramsay. Produced by Reveille Productions, it first debuted on July 27, 2010 at 9 pm ET/PT on the Fox Television Network, following one of Ramsay's other...
."
Rautureau's most well-known television appearance is as a contestant on the second season of the Bravo reality series Top Chef Masters
Top Chef: Masters (season 2)
The second season of the American reality competition show Top Chef Masters was announced on October 22, 2009. In addition to the announcement, it was announced that Gail Simmons would be added as a critic. The season premiered on April 7, 2010 with 22 world-renowned chefs competing against each...
. Rautureau competed against Monica Pope (T'afia), Carmen González
Carmen González
Carmen González is a professional chef, restaurateur, and media personality.González grew up in the Puerto Rican coastal town of Aguadilla before moving on to the New York Restaurant School to pursue a culinary career...
(Chef Consultant), David Burke
David Burke (chef)
David Burke is an American chef and restaurateur, who grew up in Hazlet, New Jersey.-Culinary education:David Burke was educated at the Culinary Institute of America...
(David Burke Townhouse), and the eventual winner of the season, Marcus Samuelsson
Marcus Samuelsson
Marcus Samuelsson is a Swedish chef and co-owner of Aquavit restaurant in New York City and C-House Restaurant, located in the Affinia Hotel in Chicago.-Early life and career:...
(Red Rooster, Aquavit) in the second episode entitled "Top Chef Masters Season 2: It's My Party." The challenge for the chefs was to cook a meal inspired by soul food
Soul food
Soul food cuisine consists of a selection of foods traditional in the cuisine of African Americans. It is closely related to the cuisine of the Southern United States...
for actor Mekhi Phifer's
Mekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
birthday party. González and Samuelsson advanced, while Pope, Rautureau and Burke were eliminated.
Community Involvement
Rautureau is on the Board of Directors for Food Lifeline, a Western WashingtonWestern Washington
Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as that part of Washington west of the Cascade Mountains.It is known as being far wetter in climate than the eastern portion of the state, which...
non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that provides food to 675,000 people through food bank
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
s, hot meal programs, shelters, and more. Rautureau also participates in various other community and charity events and fundraisers, such as the opening of the Dale Turner YMCA in Shoreline, WA.