Chefs Remember David Bouley’s Influence on the Food World

Chefs across the country shared remembrances of David Bouley after hearing the news that the acclaimed chef died of a heart attack at home on February 12.

Bouley was one of the first chefs to put New American cooking on the map. He helped separate fine dining from its then-assumed French roots, despite his upbringing by a French mother and time spent cooking in French restaurants. He made a name for himself during his time as the chef at first-time restaurateur Drew Nieporent's Montrachet in 1985, and then became a standard-bearer for farm-to-table fine dining after opening his own first restaurant, Bouley, in 1987. He was named to the second-ever class of Food & Wine Best New Chef two years after striking out on his own, and later won multiple James Beard Foundation awards and earned Michelin stars for his cooking. 

“Superb food served on a consistent basis is the reason we are honoring David Bouley,” wrote Food & Wine’s editor in chief Ila Stanger in 1989. She added that he and the other chefs on the list, “have raised the standard of restaurant cooking in all corners of our country.” Of particular note was Bouley’s ability to make tasting menus feel sophisticated without relying on luxury ingredients.

“He cooked with humble ingredients over truffles and foie gras,” recalls Chicago chef Bill Kim of his time working as a sous chef at Bouley Bakery in the '90s, noting that he went to work there after the late Charlie Trotter told him that if he could work with any chef in New York, it would be Bouley. “He made carrots, potatoes, and celery taste luxurious.”

“He was a chef’s chef,” Kim continues. “He could come into the kitchen without knowing what we had prepared for the day, then take over your station and cook a 15-course tasting menu for four guests without any help from anyone else — or even breaking a sweat.” 

Rocco DiSpirito, who was named a F&W Best New Chef 10 years after Bouley, echoed that sentiment when asked to name his favorite thing about the chef. “[It was] watching him cook, and his confidence with new flavors and ingredients. He was supremely talented, like no one else. Any chef in America will tell you the same.”

Bouley famously used apples to decorate the entry at Bouley, as a way to reiterate his focus on celebrating simple American ingredients. That was one reason Stanger called Bouley, “a restaurant for grown-ups,” in the July 1989 issue. “I can still smell the apples in the vestibule (of Bouley) when you walked in,” wrote Carrie Nahabedian, chef and co-owner of Chicago’s Brindille, on Facebook. “His cooking was phenomenal.” 

Bouley moved his namesake restaurant to a new location in 1997, and used the original TriBeCa space to open Bouley Bakery, which became a hub for feeding relief workers at Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks. He went on to open several other restaurants, including Danube, inspired by Austrian cuisine, in 1999.

Cookbook author Amy Thielen worked with Bouley as a line cook at Danube. “He was a major mentor to me,” she says. “He was my first chef when I moved to New York. The kitchen was a highly creative, improvisational environment and also a bit chaotic. As a young cook, I found it absolutely thrilling.”

Bouley converted Danube to become the Japanese-influenced Brushstroke Restaurant in 2011, in partnership with the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan. The change was a response to his growing interest in Japanese cuisine; he was named an ambassador of Japanese cuisine in 2015. In his later work, he also focused on the possibilities connecting fine cooking and nutrition. For chefs, Bouley’s far-ranging culinary interests were as influential as his leadership in the kitchen. 

“He taught me that less is more in cooking, and that a great chef can be humble, and let the technique and ingredients shine,” Kim shares.  

“He had really great manners and sense of taste and when he looked at you as a cook, and really saw you,” Thielen recalls. “He wanted to know why you were [in his kitchen]. He was always looking for people who really got it and I think he was looking for people who understood artistry.”

"He was so important,” DiSpirito adds. “American cuisine would not be the same without him"