Lespinasse (restaurant)

Lespinasse
Map
Restaurant information
Closed2003 (2003)
Street address2 East 55th Street
CityNew York
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code10022
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°45′40.6″N 73°58′27.8″W / 40.761278°N 73.974389°W / 40.761278; -73.974389

Lespinasse was a fine dining establishment initially run by and primarily associated with executive chef Gray Kunz (1955–2020). It was located in the St. Regis New York hotel in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.  It was celebrated for its house culinary style termed "cuisine spontanée", a variant of nouvelle cuisine first developed by Paul Bocuse and Roger Vergé,[1] and noted for the amount of future star chefs who worked under the aegis of Kunz in its kitchen, including; Andrew Carmellini, Floyd Cardoz, Rocco DiSpirito, and Corey Lee.[2]

Kunz, a Singapore-born Swiss, directed the eatery and served up French-Asian cuisine there until 1998.[3] The French chef Christian Delouvrier then took over culinary control of the establishment and ran its kitchen until the restaurant closed in April 2003.[4]

References

  1. ^ Merwin, Hugh (9 March 2020). "Gray Kunz Made an Entire Generation of Chefs Better". Grub Street.
  2. ^ Crowley, Chris (6 March 2020). "Legendary Chef Gray Kunz Has Died". Grub Street.
  3. ^ Miller, Bryan (12 October 1994). "New Kitchen for a Cool Million". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Scott, Keith (17 April 2003). "Grand Award—Winning Lespinasse in New York to Close". Wine Spectator.