About Zen

Who is Zen Chef?

My name is Stephane, I grew up in Gascony, France and attended cooking school in the Pays Basque and in Paris. I cooked in a number of Michelin starred restaurants including the famed “Le Crillon” in Paris. After gaining experience at home I wanted to expand my horizons, so I started traveling and working in restaurants from London to Honolulu before settling down in New York City.

In 2006, I co-founded and opened an avant-garde dessert bar in New York called “Room 4 Dessert” featuring a modernist cuisine dessert tasting menu, which was met with great acclaim by media and patrons alike.

Cooking a private dinner party for JFK, Jr years ago inspired me to become a private chef. I’m now a full-time private chef to a well-known couple and I routinely cook for some of the most powerful people in business, politics and entertainment.

I keep current with the food world and recently completed short internships at Kichisen in Kyoto, Le Bernardin and Marea in New York City and Le LaurentL’Ambroisie and Apicius in Paris. Most recently I was part of the consulting team behind the menu of the new Russ & Daughters Cafe.

You can read a little more about me on SAVEUR website here.

Why is the site called Zen Can Cook?

I had a nickname when I used to work the line in a high intensity restaurant kitchen, the executive chef would call me “Zen Chef” because I would never loose my ‘cool’ during dinner rush, even in the most chaotic situations. The nickname stayed with me and kind of defined the chef that I am today. I believe that good cooking starts when you shut out your kitchen inhibitions and allow yourself to make mistakes. My goal is to share with people that cooking should be more an enriching experience than a nerve-wracking process. When we cook, we’re also working on ourselves.

Contact

Don’t hesitate to contact me at zencancook@gmail.com

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