Paul Bocuse

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Lore & Background

After completing his formal education and fighting to liberate France, Bocuse enrolled in a culinary apprenticeship in Pollionnay with chef Eugénie Brazier. Under the guidance of some of the most skilled and experienced Mères from the Lyon area, he honed his skills in French cuisine. Bocuse was one of the most prominent chefs associated with the then-emerging nouvelle cuisine, which is less opulent and calorific than traditional cuisine classique and stresses the importance of fresh ingredients of the highest quality. However, Bocuse also criticised some nouvelle cuisine tendencies, stating 'nouvelle cuisine was nothing on the plate, everything on the bill'.

Reader's Guide

Paul Bocuse's significance lies in his role as a leading figure in the development of nouvelle cuisine, which shifted French cooking toward lighter, fresher dishes. His restaurant L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges held three Michelin stars for a record 55 years, a testament to his enduring influence. Despite his association with nouvelle cuisine, Bocuse remained critical of excesses, emphasizing that good cooking should be simple, steaming, and satisfying. The Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance, created in 2004, continues to train international students.

Did You Know?

• He died in the same room above his restaurant in which he was born.
• He received the 'Chef of the Century' award from the Culinary Institute of America.

The Seven-Year European Education

In the autumn of 1980, a nineteen-year-old Bartolotta stepped off a plane in Italy, embarking on what would become a seven-year immersion in European culinary tradition. His journey began in the Lunigiana region, where he spent his first seven months under Chef Angelo Paracucchi at Locanda dell'Angelo. He then relocated to Imola to work at the two-star Michelin Ristorante San Domenico, where he earned the formal title of Chef di Cucina at just twenty-four years old. By 1984, his training had carried him to France, where he cooked under several three-star Michelin chefs at Relais et Chateau and Traditions et Qualité establishments. His French stations included the Moulin de Mougins with Roger Verge, the legendary kitchen of Paul Bocuse in Collognes à Mont D'Or, the Troisgros brothers' restaurant in Roanne, and the celebrated Taillevent in Paris. While based in the French capital, he also pursued advanced pastry studies at Gaston Le Nôtre's École Le Nôtre in Plaisir. This extended apprenticeship, facilitated by restaurateur Tony May, laid the technical and philosophical groundwork for everything that followed.

From Manhattan to the Windy City

Bartolotta's return to New York in 1988 placed him at the helm of San Domenico NY, a restaurant he was developing under Tony May's banner, while simultaneously working evening shifts at Palio, where he met his future wife, Robbi Eisenmesser. Under his leadership, San Domenico NY achieved a milestone: a three-star review from New York Times critic Bryan Miller, a first for an Italian restaurant in that publication. Esquire's John Mariani named it Best New Restaurant in the U.S. with an Esky Award that same year, and Condé Nast Traveler's Mimi Sheraton included it among the Top 50 Restaurants in the United States. Forbes awarded it four stars in both 1990 and 1991. In 1991, Bartolotta crossed the country to Chicago, taking the head chef position at Levy Restaurants' signature venue, Spiaggia. Over the next nine years he oversaw the fine-dining room, the café, and the private dining facility, becoming a managing partner in 1993. His tenure produced the James Beard Best Chef: Midwest award in 1994, consecutive AAA Four Diamond ratings from 1994 through 2000, and a historic achievement in 1999 when Spiaggia became Chicago's first and only restaurant to earn four stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine simultaneously.

The Mediterranean in the Desert

In 2004, Steve Wynn hand-picked Bartolotta to conceptualize and run the Italian restaurant at his Las Vegas property, and the result became BARTOLOTTA, Ristorante di Mare. Seating roughly 258 guests, the restaurant operated on a logistical feat: importing between one and one and a half tons of fresh seafood weekly from Mediterranean waters, with every catch served within 19 to 48 hours of being pulled from the sea. To guarantee quality during air transport, small microchips monitored temperature throughout the journey, and on-site a full-time marine biologist, Yasmin Tajik, oversaw a dedicated tank facility. The restaurant became one of only twelve in the world—and the sole establishment in the Western Hemisphere—to serve fresh-caught langoustines, a distinction profiled in a January 2011 Departures magazine feature. Recognition followed swiftly: a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2006, the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest award in 2009, consecutive AAA Four Diamond ratings from 2006 to 2012, and a Forbes Four Star in 2012. In July 2015, Bartolotta announced his departure from the Wynn.

Building a Milwaukee Empire and Earning National Honors

Back in his hometown, Bartolotta's partnership with his brother Joe in 1993 grew into a sprawling restaurant group. The Bartolotta Restaurants ultimately encompassed one fine-dining venue, Bacchus (opened 2004), six upscale casual concepts including Ristorante Bartolotta, Pizzeria Piccola, Lake Park Bistro, Mr. B's, Rumpus Room, and Joey Gerard's, plus five quick-casual operations such as Nonna's and Northpoint Custard. Three of their properties—Mr. B's, Lake Park Bistro, and Ristorante Bartolotta—earned the DiRoNA Distinguished Restaurants of North America award. The brothers also launched a catering and special events company serving Pier Wisconsin and The Grain Exchange, and in 2009 struck a partnership with SSP America to place Nonna's, Northpoint Custard, and Pizzeria Piccola inside General Mitchell International Airport. Beyond the restaurant walls, Bartolotta's standing in the culinary world was cemented by two James Beard Foundation Awards and, in 1997, the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano del Mondo, presented by Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro in recognition of his role as an ambassador of Italian cuisine.

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