Gabriel Rucker

Two time James Beard Award winning chef Gabriel Rucker is chef and co-owner of Le Pigeon and Little Bird Bistro in Portland, Oregon. His edgy, highly original, and recipe free masterpieces, evocative of French bistro signatures and classic American fare, have gained him both regional and national acclaim. When school no longer peaked his interest, Rucker moved to the kitchen where his natural talent took flight. 2003 landed him a coveted job at Paley’s Place and, after two years in the esteemed kitchen, he moved on to the Gotham Building Tavern as sous chef. In June of 2006, Rucker opened Le Pigeon and became an overnight success. In 201, Rucker and his business partner Andrew Fortgang opened Little Bird, a Downtown Portland bistro that went on to win Oregonian’s 2012 Restaurant of the Year. Rucker and his team released their first cookbook, Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird (Ten Speed Press), in September 2013. Forwarded by Chef Tom Colicchio, the cookbook is a serious yet playful collection of 150 recipes celebrating Rucker's highlow extremes in cooking, combining the wild and the refined in a unique and progressive style, receiving national acclaim from media and chefs alike, including Andrew Zimmern’s Top Cookbooks of 2013, Food Republic’s Top 20 Cookbooks, one of Financial Times’ Books of the Year, Food Network Favorite Fall Books, praised in UK Independent, Wall Street Journal,Eater, and The Week, and was a finalist for the 2014 IACP Cookbook award. Rucker is one of Portland’s most respected and decorated chefs, earning many accolades, including two James Beard Awards for Rising Star Chef in 2011 and Best Chef Northwest in 2013, as well as a nomination for Outstanding Chef 2016, Food & Wine Best New Chef 2007, The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year and Portland Monthly’s Chefs of the Year. Le Pigeon was named among Travel + Leisure's 10 Best French Restaurants in the US, highlighted in Art Culinaire, The Guardian, Zagat, Kinfolk, Details Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Wine Spectator, SF Chronicle, USA Today, and GQ’s Best Things to Eat & Drink Right Now, ranked #14 Best Restaurant in the Country by Daily Meal, ranked #36 Best Restaurant in America by Business Insider , named in the top ten Best Chef's Counters on USA Today, and featured in episodes of NBC New York and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. The Oregonian recently ranked Le Pigeon #1 on a list of Portland’s Best Restaurants.