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Restaurateurs mourn the death of David Bouley

The groundbreaking chef was admired for his creativity, style, and technique

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

February 14, 2024

2 Min Read
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David Bouley, the pioneering New York City chef who lightened and elevated the country’s fine dining, died of a heart attack at age 70 at his home in Kent, Conn., The New York Times reported.

Bouley, who had the reputation of a sort of beloved mad scientist with breathtaking culinary skills, came on the dining scene in 1985 as chef of restaurateur Drew Nieporent’s Montrachet in the city’s Tribeca neighborhood. He went on to open Bouley nearby in 1987, which enjoyed top ranking in the city’s Zagat guide, when that was the city’s most relied upon resource for restaurant recommendations, for years. He also had removed the butter and cream from his kitchen early on and developed concentrated vegetable purées and other lighter elements that dazzled customers, who often sat through dinners for several hours as the chef took his own time to prepare the food.

Based on his ratings, it was worth it.

He went on to open Danube, Bouley Bakery, and Brushstroke as well as Bouley Test Kitchen, an event space and laboratory for his work, which in his later years explored Japanese techniques and ingredients. He also delved into fermentation and focus on gut health years before it became the norm.

Chefs across the country shared their memories of Bouley on social media.

Charlie Palmer called him “a hero of our industry.”

Kerry Heffernan, who considered Bouley a mentor, said “he had an alchemist’s touch with both flavor and texture.”

Jason Neroni said he admired Bouley as an artist and “an innovative chef & incredible cook, a potion maker of sauces that that nobody has ever seen & never will again.”

Bouley had old-school qualities that chefs admired, like refusing to serve guests who didn’t appreciate the magic he was creating. Dan Barber shared one anecdote:

Brian Bistrong, who trained under Bouley, also called him his mentor.

“He taught so many talented chefs how to cook and appreciate ingredients,” he said. “He cooked everyday and invented new dishes every night. He made me crazy too but I loved him very much will miss him from the bottom of my heart.”

Barry Wine superimposed his own face on a photo of Bouley on his Ducati motorcycle and said he admired his genius, precision, and style.
 

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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