Chef Daniel Boulud has helmed his New York flagship restaurant, Daniel, for 23 years, and opened 16 other restaurants around the world. So when it comes to matters of taste, you can rest assured that the Lyon-raised culinary legend has strong opinions. We sat down with the famed chef to discuss some of his favorite things, from cocktails to coffee.
If you had to choose one, what’s your favorite vegetable?
Mushrooms
Do you have a favorite spice?
Cumin
What’s your drink of choice?
Negroni
What’s your current favorite fruit?
Mango, right now
Any guilty-pleasure junk foods you can’t resist?
Black licorice
Favorite single ingredient to work with?
Onion—it’s a very versatile ingredient
What’s your favorite New York neighborhood?
Upper East Side
If you didn’t live in New York, where would you live?
Lyon
Any favorite cities to visit in the U.S.?
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Charleston, New Orleans, Chicago
What about in Europe?
Paris, Lyon, Florence, San Sebastian
And in Asia?
Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong
What’s your least favorite culinary fad?
The puree on the plate—when you drop it on the plate and do the swoosh
What’s your favorite season to cook in?
All of them—I like all of them
What’s the most difficult food to prepare well?
Seafood
Cake or pie?
Pie
Coffee or tea?
Coffee, black
Burgers or pizza?
Burgers
Pot au feu or cassoulet?
Pot au feu
What types of restaurants are you most drawn to?
Japanese restaurants and French brasseries
Which restaurant do you eat at most often, other than your own?
Le Bilboquet
Can you tell us which chefs you admire most?
Still Alain Ducasse. But in America, Thomas Keller. You have to have a French and an American.
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