Jean-Louis Palladin
taped at Jean-Louis at the Watergate, Washington D.C.,
and Rio Suites Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Hailed as the chef of the twentieth century, called by critic Alan Richman “America’s finest interpreter of classic French cuisine,” Jean-Louis Palladin reached the status of legend. When he was awarded two Michelin stars at age twenty-eight, he was the youngest chef ever to receive such an accolade. In 1993 he was named “Best Chef” by the James Beard Foundation (sharing the honor with Larry Forgione of An American Place). From his intimate Washington, D.C., restaurant Jean-Louis at the Watergate to Napa at the Rio Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Jean-Louis Palladin defined “chef.” Among his legacies is his devotion to fresh, seasonal ingredients, the ever-changing menu reflecting the best in the market that day, a standard which is now a hallmark of fine American cuisine. Jean-Louis Palladin passed away November 26, 2001.
Many chefs welcome the challenge of creating a special “tasting” menu, selecting a many-splendored degustation that gives samples of the kitchen at its best. One of the first chefs to do this in the United States was Jean-Louis Palladin.
From the time he arrived in the U.S. in 1979, the French Palladin maintained his presence on the culinary scene. Jean-Louis at the Watergate in Washington, D.C., garnered every award and was legendary; then Palladin ignited the cuisine at Napa at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. He was featured on Great Chefs at both restaurants, first on Great Chefs of the East, then on Great Chefs of America. Palladin mentored a generation of fine chefs and racked up an impressive array of guest appearances and consultations in addition to his restaurants before his death.
Palladin’s ventures included a seafood market and trattoria called Pesce with Robert Donna, and The Frog and the Redneck with Jimmy Sneed in Richmond, Virginia. In Washington he even installed a brasserie called Palladin right above his own Jean-Louis. Clearly he was a restlessly creative soul who learned the French art of staying the course while indulging in the American zeal for following several different courses at once.
Palladin learned the basics of what he called “instinctive cuisine” quite early. He went to work in a restaurant kitchen in his native Gascony at the age of twelve, then moved on to hotel school in Toulouse, a saucier’s job at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, and a stint at the Plaza Athenee in Paris.
Feeling the urge for home, Palladin returned to Gascony and turned a fourteenth-century monastery into his own restaurant, La Table des Cordeliers. Michelin gave La Table two stars, making the twenty-eight-year-old visionary the youngest chef to be so honored at the time. It was on those wings that Palladin flew to America.
In addition to his version of French cuisine and his tireless expansion into new ventures, Palladin was an inspiration to his American peers in at least two other ways. He aggressively explored the wine world for specific combinations that suited his food, turning out a stellar list. He also pioneered the mystique of chef as a zealot for fine ingredients. Long before it was fashionable to do so, Palladin spent his early mornings strolling through the seafood and produce markets. Called the outstanding chef of the century, Palladin has his place up front among the chefs who have changed the way America dines.
