Alain Ducasse

When Alain Ducasse announced the opening of Alain Ducasse at the Essex House in New York, he set the restaurant world abuzz. The internationally renowned chef of four Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, Monte Carlo, and Provence was entering the American market with a bang. The media frenzy surrounding the restaurant’s opening was huge. With only 65 seats and one sitting per evening of 3- to 6-course prix-fixe tasting menus (starting at $150 per person), Ducasse let New Yorkers know that a serious new dining experience had arrived. Ducasse’s gamble paid off. The New York Times bestowed a four-star review. The James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant of 2000” followed. In 2001, Condé Nast Traveler called it one of its “100 Hot Tables,” and Bon Appétit named Ducasse “Chef of the Year.” The accolades continued with Alain Ducasse at the Essex House receiving Mobil Guide’s only new Five-Star Award and the AAA’s 2002 Five-Diamonds Award. And most recently, GQ magazine honored Ducasse as part of their Men of the Year feature under the title “Chef.”