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MICHEL RICHARD

Michel Richard was a pioneer in creating the revolutionary French/California cuisine that is now so prevalent. His style is light, fresh and intelligent, focusing on innovative combinations, witty presentations and always an element of texture. "His restless California cuisine is beautiful, offbeat and constantly changing," states Ruth Reichl of the New York Times.

Richard knew he wanted to be a chef when he first glimpsed a restaurant kitchen at the age of eight. "The white hats, aprons, and all of the food—I fell in love," Richard says now of the experience. His fate was decided. At 14, Richard apprenticed in a restaurant-run patisserie in Champagne, France. Three years later he moved to Paris where he quickly rose to the top position at Gaston Lenotre's esteemed pastry shop.

But, like many other chefs of his age growing up during the Bocuse revolution, Richard wanted to move to America. The opportunity came in 1974 when Lenotre opened a pastry shop in the U.S. Unfortunately, America was not yet ready for Lenotre's sophisticated French fare and the patisserie closed.

While Richard thought he would eventually move back to France, he was not yet ready. So, in 1975 he moved to Santa Fe for the opportunity to run a pastry shop serving simple meals. A year later, finding that ownership was much more lucrative and creatively energizing, he bought the shop. Despite his success, Richard explained that "Santa Fe was not a dream for an ambitious young chef," and looked to the West Coast for his next move.

In 1977, Richard moved to Los Angeles, attracted by the power and glamour of the city. He opened Michel Richard to instant success. With the profits of his highly lucrative pastry shop, Richard traveled back and forth to France eating, learning and cooking in three star Michelin-rated restaurants.

In 1987, Michel opened Citrus as executive chef and owner, adapting his native French cuisine to the tastes of Southern California. Citrus put Michel Richard on the culinary map, and in 1987 was voted the Best Restaurant in the United States by Traveler magazine. In 1988, Michel Richard was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's "Who's Who" in American Food and Wine.

A year later, Michel opened Citronelle, offering a menu similar to that of Citrus, but in a more elegant atmosphere overlooking the ocean in the Santa Barbara Inn Hotel. With his financial partners from MeriStar Hotels & Resorts, Inc., he went on to open Bistro M in San Francisco and Citronelle in Baltimore and Philadelphia. In 1994, Michel opened Citronelle in the Latham Hotel Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Four years later, Michel decided to focus all of his efforts on the East Coast. In early 1998, after a $2 million renovation, Richard moved from Los Angeles to Washington, DC to cook full time at his flagship restaurant, Michel Richard Citronelle.