Location: 275 Mulberry Street, New York, NY
Restaurant: Chef’s Club by Food & Wine
Position: Culinary Director
Cuisine focus: Culinary products
Notable Awards: Awarded 2 Michelin-stars, Chef at 3 Michelin-starred Essex House by Chef Alain Ducasse, awarded Best New Restaurant America 2001 by James Beard Foundation, received 4 Star rating by The New York Times.
Didier Elena is the Culinary Director of CHEFS CLUB BY FOOD & WINE, spearheading the restaurant’s unique culinary programming. Growing up in Monaco, a son of a French physician mother and an Italian fisherman father, Didier was instilled at an early age with a profound respect for what it takes to bring quality products to the table. He was fortunate to work in the kitchens and restaurants of his uncle during holidays as a young man, where he first developed his unshakable work ethic and an appreciation for the verve of the restaurant industry. Having spent more than 25 years in the world’s most esteemed kitchens from New York to Tokyo, including those of Alain Ducasse and Paul Bocuse, Didier brings a mastery of classic, fine-dining cuisine that complements the eclectic styles of FOOD & WINE’s Best New Chefs that are selected to create the menu of seasonally inspired cuisine exclusively for Chefs Club.
1. What’s your regular comfort meal?
Pot au feu.
2. Tell us about one Kitchen Disaster story.
Back in 1991 at Bocuse in France, we overcooked a poached chicken with truffles and had to serve it to a critic.
3. Do you have any kitchen battle scars?
No.
4. If your last day was tomorrow, what would be your last meal?
With my wife.
5. Who makes your favorite knife?
Patrick Bonetta.
6. Finish this sentence:
If I wasn’t a Chef, I would be a sommelier because I love wine.
7. After a long work day, what do you do to decompress?
Have a glass of wine.
8. What do you wish you had more time to do?
Learning bread bakery.
9. Besides cooking, do you have any other talents?
Trying to be a good father.
10. What is your culinary “best case” scenario?
Doing a dinner on the Moon.
Learn more about Chef Didier Elena on his Chef’s Roll profile here.
Chef Didier Elena will be participating at Puerto Rico Meets NYC in October. Learn more about the event by clicking on the image below.
