Chef Claude Troisgros
Hailed by critics as one of the outstanding new chefs to arrive on the American restaurante scene, it's no surprise to learn that Chef Claude Troisgros' success was fated. "I always knew what I would be when I grew up", he explains. Claude Troisgros has cooking in his blood... literally. His father Pierre and Uncle Jean founded the celebrated Troisgros of Roanne where Claude was turning out a perfect beurre blanc when most children were learning the alphabet. "I was raised in the kitchen", he says.
At the age of 16 Claude was off to the Hotel School of Thonon-les-Bains and on to an apprenticeship with Paul Bocuse. Years before, Bocuse, a close friend of the family, had made a seven-year-old Claude sign a "contract" stipulating that his first job would be at Bocuse's eponymous restaurant.
Claude's next years were spent in Europe's best kitchens, including the Taillevent in Paris, the Connaught Hotel in London and the Tantris in Munich, complete with stopovers at the Troisgros homestead in between jobs. Travel whetted Claude's sense of adventure, so when Gaston Lenôtre offered him a position as chef for his restaurant Pré-Catelan in Rio de Janeiro, Claude jetted off to Brazil with a two year contract. Once in Brazil, he fell in love with the country and the woman who would become his wife, Marlene Pereira da Silva.
Creating a Culinary LegendIt was in Brazil that Claude began using tropical ingredients to personalize his family's signature French cuisine. The country's bounty of unique fruits and vegetables, unusual herbs and beans, quality beef, exceptional fish, and "astonishingly perfect baby lobsters" were all an inspiration to experiment. Claude even launched Roanne, his first solo restaurant venture, across the street from a local open-air market in Rio de Janeiro.
Word spread quickly of Claude's imaginative flavor combinations and pristine presentations, leading to the elegant but informal restaurant Claude Troisgros, which attracted Brazil's trendsetters and power brokers, as well as accolades from ecstatic critics. Restaurant Terramater, with traditional Brazilian cooking and another Roanne in São Paulo followed, along with the cookbook Da Cabeça á Panela (from the head to the saucepan).
With the tropical flavors and exotic ingredients of Brazil as an inspiration, the thoroughly innovative cuisine of Claude Troisgros made its debut - and left its imprint - on the American culinary scene in 1994. Importantly, his restaurant, C.T./Claude Troisgros was the first culinary venture in the United States for a member of the Troisgros family.
With his belief that "food should be a feast for all of the senses", Chef Troisgros set a new standard for the ultimate Manhattan dining experience. "I like to combine three types of ingredients in each dish", he said. "Something acidic, something crispy and something green." Claude believes the acidic ingredient, such as passion fruit or flavored vinegar, piques the appetite and calls the taste buds to attention. The crispy ingredient gives varied texture to the dish and engages the ear in the dining experience - "it makes the ear crack." A touch of green rounds out the color scheme on the plate, pleases the eye, and evokes a fresh natural feeling.
While still new to the American restaurant scene, Claude Troisgros conquered the hearts of the nation's toughest critics, including Ruth Reichl of the New York Times, who awarded C.T./Claude Troisgros Restaurant three stars. Now a well-established member of the New York food world, Claude is a member of the prestigious James Beard Foundation and member of IACP - International Association of Culinary Professionals. And Claude also brings his considerable talents to bear as consulting chef for the Blue Door restaurant in the Delano Hotel, Miami's newest and most sought-after luxury hotel.
Brazilian Ventures and AdventuresCaricature of Chef ClaudeWhile Claude has been the driving force behind many successful ventures in France, New York, and now Miami, Brazil is where he makes his home. In addition to being the owner of the three-star Claude Troisgros restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Claude also runs a bistro called Boteco 66. Not content to rest on his laurels, he oversees Claude Troisgros Events, an upscale catering and event planning company who serves like a Personal Chef of the President of Brazil, Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
Claude is also na active member of Brazil's most prominent culinary associations, including The Brazilian Association of Restaurant Owners; The Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Trade Association of Rio de Janeiro. Claude also serves as a distinguished member of the 1997 Jury of the School of French Haute Cuisine, and as President of the Jury for the Pinhão Cooking Contest in Rio. (For the uninitiated, pinhão is a Brazilian-style pine nut).
He is the president of the Technician Council of CTG Rio - CentroTécnico de Gastronomia in Rio and he has the tittle of "Associated Teacher of "l´école de Cuisine Française de Paris".
Whether in America, Brazil or the land of his birth, Chef Claude Troisgros lends his inexhaustible creative spirit to the task at hand. He has forged a cuisine that continues to evolve, but always reflects the strenght of its classic foundation.
