Christian Delouvrier Named Executive Chef at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House

Alain Ducasse is pleased to announce that Christian Delouvrier will succeed Didier Elena as Executive Chef, taking the helm at the four-star Alain Ducasse at the Essex House.

Delouvrier is currently working with Groupe Alain Ducasse in Paris and Monaco expecting to begin in New York at the end of April. Didier Elena will remain working with Alain Ducasse in Paris. Elena is returning to France with his wife and two children to live near their extended family.

"My primary objective is to create happiness and pleasure for all of my guests, and that the team I've instilled in my restaurants ensures that each visitor has a unique and memorable culinary experience. I've long admired Christian Delouvrier for his contribution to gastronomy in the United States and his respect for his culinary roots. His ability to create a magical experience for his guests reflects my own vision and ideals. To have such an esteemed chef working along side my talented team of chefs, captains and wait staff is an honor," says Ducasse.

"It's like coming home," says Delouvrier, who was the executive chef at the three-star Les Celebrites, the restaurant that formerly occupied the space now home to Alain Ducasse at the Essex House. Delouvrier went on to earn his fourth star at Lespinasse at the St. Regis, along with the Mobile Guide's Five-Star Award, while Alain Ducasse transformed the restaurant at the Essex House into one of New York's most revered four-star restaurants.

"I was enchanted with the idea of working with Alain. He is generally recognized as the best chef in the world. How could I refuse the opportunity? I was also attracted to the stability and strength of Groupe Alain Ducasse. With sixteen restaurants around the world, they have the resources and talent to understand and provide what a chef needs and wants to serve his clientele to the best of his ability," explains Delouvrier.

Individually, Ducasse and Delouvrier have garnered worldwide respect and loyalty among the most demanding and discerning palates. The pair, who share the same heritage, culture and terroir of southwestern France where Delouvrier's Gascony is a "stone's throw" from Alain Ducasse's home region of Les Landes, have now combined their talents to create new dishes that will appeal to their sophisticated following who appreciate extraordinary quality and creativity.

Placing the utmost respect upon the integrity of locally-grown ingredients, each has developed working relationships with the very best quality producers in the United States, defining the high standards that are expected and met in the kitchen. The source of ingredients will continue to have a strong effect on the cuisine at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House -- from Alaskan salmon to New York foie gras, the ingredients will be obtained domestically. "I work with what nature offers me, striving to maintain the integrity of each ingredient," according to Ducasse.

Since its opening four years ago, the Alain Ducasse at the Essex House restaurant has received The New York Times Four-Star review, Mobil Guide's only new 2002 Five-Star Award, the 2002 AAA Five Diamond Award, James Beard Foundation's "Best New Restaurant of 2000" Award and was named one of Conde Nast Traveler's 2001 "100 Hot Tables" and one of Food & Wine's 2002 "America's Best Hotel Restaurants." Additionally, Alain Ducasse was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's 2002 "Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America" and was named Bon Appetit's 2001 "Chef of the Year."

The restaurant consists of a 65-seat dining room; a Petit Salon or lounge; the Salon de Soie, an exquisite private dining room; and the Chef's Table or Aquarium. The 65-seat main dining room is open Monday through Saturday for dinner with only one seating per evening, and offers Mediterranean-influenced and contemporary classic cuisine ranging from three- to six-course prix-fixe tasting menus.

The ALAIN DUCASSE AT THE ESSEX HOUSE restaurant is located at 155 West 58th Street, between 6th and 7th avenues. For further information and reservations, please call (212) 265 7300, fax (212) 265 9300.

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