jean George | New York | 3 ***

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Early Life in France

Born and raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, Vongerichten’s earliest family memories are about food. The Vongerichten home centered around the kitchen, where each day his mother and grandmother would prepare lunch for the almost 50 employees in their family-owned business. His love for food cemented into his choice for a career at the age of 16, when his parents brought him to the 3-star Michelin-rated Auberge de l’IIl for a birthday dinner.[3]
[edit]Culinary Education

Vongerichten began his training soon after in a work-study program at the Auberge de l'III as an apprentice to Chef Paul Haeberlin. He went on to work with the top chefs in France, including Paul Bocuse and Louis Outhier at L’Oasis in the south of France. With this three-star Michelin training, Vongerichten won a position at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. From 1980 to 1985, he opened 10 restaurants around the world, including one at the Meridien Hotel in Singapore and another at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong.[3]
[edit]Relocation to America

Vongerichten arrived in the United States in 1985, opening the Lafayette restaurant in Boston. A year later he arrived in New York to take over the executive Chef position at Lafayette in the Drake Swissôtel, generating critical acclaim with his innovative interpretation of classic French cuisine and earning four stars from The New York Times at the age of 29. Vongerichten opened his bistro JoJo in 1991. JoJo was named Best New Restaurant of the Year, and earned three stars from The New York Times, in which Food critic Ruth Reichl claimed: "His food took my breath away".
[edit]Vong
His next venture, Vong, paid homage to his passion for the spices and flavors of the East. Using over 150 different herbs and spices to create his take on Thai-inspired French cuisine, the menu at Vong impressed critics, earning another three-star review from The New York Times for his "explosive flavorful food". In an adjacent space to Vong, Vongerichten also opened The Lipstick Cafe, catering to the midtown business crowd and serving breakfast and lunch in a casual, upscale setting. The Lipstick Cafe has since closed.
[edit]Jean-Georges at the Trump International Hotel
In March 1997, Vongerichten opened Jean Georges restaurant in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, earning a four star review from The New York Times less than three months after opening, and the "Chef of the Year Award" from John Mariani at Esquire magazine. Jean Georges Restaurant remains one of 4 restaurants in the city awarded four stars by the New York Times and three stars by the Michelin Guide.
Frank Bruni of The Times said it offers “accessible elegance,” providing “classic French indulgence with a contemporary flair.” The restaurant trades “the richness of traditional French cooking for a different kind of intensity,” he added — it eliminates “thick sauces and embraces oils and broths, preferring them for their lightness and for the way they release their scents, like the perfume of lemon grass that rose from a bath of Asian herbs and seeds around a delicately baked lobster tartine.”[4]
[edit]Expanding the Brand
A year and a half later, Vongerichten opened a second Vong in the Knightsbridge area of London, earning a three-star review and the 1996 vote for the London Evening Standard’s "Newcomer of the Year". In September 1997, he opened Vong in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, which Robb Report awarded "Best Restaurant in the World" award in 1998. A fourth Vong in Chicago changed its name and format to VTK (Vong's Thai Kitchen) in 2002. The second and third Vongs have since closed.
Vongerichten followed with The Mercer Kitchen, opened in July 1998, in the stylish Mercer Hotel in Soho. This venture features an American-Provincial menu and ‘communal’ style tables in the open kitchen area. Another addition is the Prime Steakhouse in Steve Wynn’s Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, which opened in October 1998.
Vongerichten opened Spice Market (Southeast Asian street food) in 2004 and Perry Street in 2005 (French-American)in NYC, as well as the Chambers Kitchen in Minneapolis[5] in 2007.
According to an interview [6] with The Zagat Survey, Vongerichten has no plans to slow down his expansion. His latest projects for 2009 include a restaurant in the Mark Hotel in NYC, a Market and Spice Market in the W Hotel in Doha and a J&G Steakhouse in Scottsdale, AZ and Washington, D.C..
[edit]Starwood Hotels
Vongerichten and partner Phil Suarez have formed a new company with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and Catterton Partners, a consumer-focused private-equity firm which will own, operate, manage and license restaurants in Starwood properties as well as freestanding concepts not attached to the hotel giant's lodging outlets. The deal calls for seven Spice Markets and other concepts world wide. The total number of eating destinations could total 56 with this contract. The first to open were two Spice Markets at the W Hotel in both Atlanta and Istanbul, respectively.

J&G Steakhouse (Scottsdale)
Vongerichten opened his newest steakhouse in December 2008 atop The Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Touted as a "sleek, sexy, glamorous restaurant [7]" by John Mariani, floor to ceiling windows frame the dramatic views of the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. With sumptuous fare comprised of steaks and seafood, the restaurant has received 4 stars from the Arizona Republic[8] and is regarded as one of the top 3 steakhouses in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area[9].

Vancouver Restaurant
Vongerichten is opening a restaurant at the Hotel Shangri-La Vancouver, a luxury hotel that Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will open in early 2009. “Market by Jean-Georges” is the first collaboration between Shangri-La and Mr. Vongerichten and is the famous chef's first involvement with Canadian or west coast dining.[10]

Jean-Georges Steakhouse
Vongerichten is set to open a steakhouse inside Aria Resort And Casino[11], one of the first properties to open in the newly-built CityCenter on the Las Vegas strip. The restaurant will features steaks served on hot lava rocks as well as sustainable and organic ingredients