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Gilles Epié

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Gilles Epié
Born
Nantes, France
Culinary career
Award(s) won
  • Michelin Star Chef
Websitewww.chefgillesepie.com

Gilles Epié is a French chef who was the youngest chef in the world to receive a Michelin Star at the age of 22.[1] He was the owner and executive chef of Citrus Etoile restaurant in Paris near the Champs-Élysées which he operated with his wife Elizabeth from 2005 to 2017.[2] As of 2022, he works as the executive chef of L'Avant-Garde, a modern French brasserie in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.,[3] which was named one of the "Very Best Restaurants" by Washingtonian magazine.[4] He is a member of l'Académie culinaire de France.

Career

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Born in Nantes, Epié started working at the age of 14 and trained with Alain Senderens and Alain Ducasse at Lucas-Carton in Paris.[5] He received his first Michelin Star in 1980 at Le Pavillon des Princes, near Paris.[6]

Epié worked at several other French restaurants, including La Vieille Fontaine near Paris where he received his second Michelin Star in 1983, his restaurant Le Miravile, receiving a third Michelin Star in 1986, and La Petite Cour in Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Paris.[7] In 1995, he left France for the United States.

Epié worked as head chef of the French restaurant L'Orangerie in Los Angeles, where he introduced a Provençal-inspired style of cooking. He was voted "Best Chef In America of 1996" by Food & Wine magazine.[6][8] He left in 1997 to operate the Beverly Hills restaurant Chez Gilles, which he purchased along with partner Jean Denoyer.[9] Epié prepared a dinner with U.S. presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and Gerald Ford, as well as birthday parties for both Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.[10]

In 2005 Epié returned to Paris with his wife after a promising location opened up near the Champs-Elysées. He opened the Citrus Etoile restaurant, named after his friend Michel Richard's Los Angeles restaurant, Citrus.[11] Citrus Etoile was selected as a member of the Châteaux & Hotels Collection - Tables Remarquables - and was included in Alain Ducasse's book, J'Aime Paris.[12][13] In 2012, he traveled with four other Michelin Star chefs on the MSC Splendida's Celebrity Chef cruises, and participated in the 25th anniversary celebration of Ducasse's Louis XV restaurant held in Monte Carlo.[14][15] In 2018, Epié returned to America.[16]

In April 2013, Epié opened Frenchy's, a Parisian-style brasserie within Charles de Gaulle Airport's International Terminal 2.[17] In 2015, he was the guest chef at La Clef des Champs restaurant in Mauritius for a French Gastronomic Week event.[18] In November 2016, Epié teamed up with Juan Jose Cuevas for the Guest Chef Dinner Series at the Vanderbilt Hotel in Puerto Rico, presenting a seven-course gastronomic menu.[19] In 2016, he was featured at the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner in Santa Barbara and received FestForums' Lifetime Achievement award.[20][21]

In 2018, Epié sold Citrus Etoile and became the corporate executive chef at Juvia, Miami Beach. He also participated in the James Beard Foundation's "Beach Chic" charity event in New York City in 2018.[16][22]

In February 2019, Epié was a guest chef at The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival.[23] Later that year, he became the culinary director and executive chef of the Montage Beverly Hills Hotel. The restaurant was renamed Gilles@Montage Hotel and featured French-Californian cuisine.[24]

Television

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Epié and his wife Elizabeth starred in two seasons of his reality documentary show in France for Canal+/Cuisine+, Dans La Vraie Vie D'un Grand Chef (In the Real Life of a Top Chef), which featured his restaurant Citrus Etoile.[25] He also starred in two seasons of Un Frenchy en cuisine (A Frenchy in the Kitchen) which aired on Cuisine+ in 2015.[10][26]

References

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  1. ^ "Meet The Youngest Michelin Rated Chef, Gilles Epié". Westmount Magazine. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  2. ^ Best of Paris Page 93 "CITRUS ETOILE 6, rue Arsène-Houssaye
  3. ^ Spiegel, Anna (8 December 2022). "French Rockstar Chef Opens Fireplace Brasserie in Georgetown". Washingtonian. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  4. ^ Limpert, Ann; Sidman, Jessica; Hacinli, Cynthia; Polis, Carey; Rosenblum, Sara Levine (24 January 2024). "The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington, DC". Washingtonian. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  5. ^ Balla, Lesley (27 December 2006). "L'Orangerie Through the Years: Chef Shuffles". Eater LA.
  6. ^ a b Sheridan, Margaret (26 July 1996). "L'Orangerie's Executive Chef Leaves to Help Revive Bistro". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ "Gilles Epié Official Site". Archived from the original on 28 October 2011.[self-published source]
  8. ^ Monczka, Slavica. "Michelin Star Chef Gilles Epie is Still Dishing it Up". JustLuxe. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  9. ^ Sheridan, Margaret (6 March 1997). "Au Revoir, Helene". Los Angeles Times.
  10. ^ a b "Biography Gilles Epié" (PDF). Iberostar Hotels and Resorts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2019.
  11. ^ Loustalot, Ghislain (12 March 2013). "Chef VIP - Gilles Epié, le goût des stars" [Gilles Epié, the taste of the stars - VIP Chef]. Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Citrus Etiole in Châteaux & Hotels Collection - Tables remarquables". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  13. ^ Epie, Gilles. "Awards for Citrus Etiole". Gilles Epie. Archived from the original on 25 July 2016.[self-published source]
  14. ^ "Michelin stars in the galley". Traveller. 17 September 2011. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019.
  15. ^ "240 chefs and 300 Michelin stars international celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Louis XV-Alain Ducasse" (PDF) (Press release). November 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Fabulous Food: Chef Gilles Epié Joins Juvia Miami Beach". WTVJ. 6 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Frenchy's, l'art de la brasserie à Paris-Charles de Gaulle" [Frenchy's, the art of brewing at Paris-Charles de Gaulle]. Paris Aéroport (in French). 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Gilles Epié : un chef VIP à la Clef des Champs" [Gilles Epié: a VIP chef at Clef des Champs]. Cote Nord (in French). 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019.
  19. ^ Harter, Liz. "Puerto Rico's 1919 Welcomes Parisian Chef Gilles Epie : New Worlder". New Worlder. Retrieved 11 July 2020.[dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Santa Barbara's First James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour Dinner To Celebrate Friendship of Julia Child & James Beard" (Press release). 19 September 2016.
  21. ^ "FestForums Spotlights The Art & Science of Festivals, 2nd Annual International Festival Conference In Santa Barbara, California, Nov. 19-21" (PDF). Squarespace (Press release). FestForums. 21 September 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Gilles Epié". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  23. ^ "The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival". South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF).[dead link‍]
  24. ^ S.jennifer (18 October 2019). "Gilles Epié takes the lead of the Montage Beverly Hills stoves". California Lines. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Dans La Vraie Vie D'un Grand Chef Avec Le Chef Gilles Epie" [In the Real Life of a Top Chef with Chef Gilles Epie]. CanalSat (in French). Archived from the original on 22 January 2013.
  26. ^ "Gilles Epié, un frenchy en cuisine" [Gilles Epié, a Frenchy in the kitchen]. TV Magazine.
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