David Burke
Blazing across distinctions between chef, artist, entrepreneur and inventor, David Burke is one of the leading pioneers in American cooking today. His career is one marked by creativity, critical acclaim and the introduction of revolutionary products and cooking techniques.
Burke trained at the Culinary Institute of America then headed to France to refine his skills with Michelin-starred cooking. His mastery of this elusive technique was confirmed at 26 when Burke became the first American, and one of the youngest chefs on record, to win France's coveted Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Diplome d'Honneur as well as Japan's Nippon Award of Excellence.
In January 2003 Burke teamed up with energetic restaurateur, Donatella Arpaia, to open davidburke & donatella. The restaurant's cuisine allowed him to rework the classics with a modern, fresh, confident approach. Next came David Burke at Bloomingdale's in New York and Primehouse in Chicago's James Hotel. The Burke empire continued to grow when he purchased Fromagerie, a fine dining restaurant in Rumson New Jersey. In the early days, a young Burke worked in the Fromagerie kitchen, and found mentors in founders of the restaurant, Markus and Hubert Peter. When they grew old enough to retire, Burke took over the reigns. The most recent addition has been Dave Burke Las Vegas in the Venetian Resort, Hotel, Casino.
In addition to his work in the restaurant kitchen, Burke is actively involved with culinology, an emerging discipline which marries traditional culinary arts with innovative food science to vastly improve the nutritional and flavor profiles of mass-produced foods. A board member of the Research Chefs Association, he is the advisor for J.Manheimer, Inc., one of America's oldest flavor developers, and the consultants to such well-known companies as Aramark. Burke's cookbooks include Cooking with David Burke and David Burke's New American Classics.
