Goin, Suzanne 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born September 25, 1966, in Los Angeles, CA; married David Lentz. Education: Brown University, B.A., 1988.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. Office—Lucques, 8474 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Ma Maison (restaurant), Los Angeles, CA, former apprentice; Chez Panisse, Berkeley, CA, line cook, 1990-92; Pain, Adore, et Fantasie, Paris, France, former staff; Arpege Brigade, Paris, line cook, 1993; Patisserie Christian Pottier, Paris, former staff; Olives, Boston, MA, sous chef, 1993; Alloro, Boston, executive chef, 1994-96; Campanile, Los Angeles, executive chef, 1997-98; Lucques, Los Angeles, owner, 1998—; A.O.C., Los Angeles, owner, 2002—; The Hungry Cat, Los Angeles, owner, 2005—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Creative Chef, Boston magazine, 1994; named one of the Best New Chefs of 1999, Food and Wine; Best Chef California and Best Cookbook from a Professional Point of View, both from the James Beard Foundation, both 2006.

WRITINGS:

(With Teri Gelber) Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table (cookbook), Alfred A. Knopf (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Executive chef and restaurateur Suzanne Goin is the driving force behind several Los Angeles restaurants, including Lucques and A.O.C. She got her start during her senior year in high school, when she apprenticed in the pastry kitchen at the famed Ma Maison in Los Angeles. She then went on to earn a history degree at Brown University, but cooking remained her first love. Working her way up the career ladder, she took positions at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, Pain, Adore, et Fantasie in Paris, France, Olives in Boston, Massachusetts, and finally returned to Los Angeles and the post of executive chef of Campanile. With partner Caroline Styne, Goin opened Lucques in West Hollywood in 1998.

Soon Goin was named one of Food and Wine's Best Chefs of 1999, and her restaurant was placed among the top-rated restaurants on several culinary lists. In 2002, Goin and Styne opened their second restaurant, A.O.C., which takes its name from the French system of maintaining the quality of products such as wine and cheese. Goin was then nominated for a James Beard award in 2003, 2004, and again in 2005.

Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table, which Goin wrote with Teri Gelber, offers readers the chance to create meals similar to those the chef has made famous at her flagship restaurant. Because Goin does not generally work from recipes, she was forced to create them especially for the book. Judith Sutton, writing in Library Journal, remarked of Goin that "she writes with passion and humor," and that the recipes are "written with the home cook in mind." A contributor for Publishers Weekly, however, warned readers that "most dishes are all-day affairs" in this book, and not for the beginner.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2005, Mark Knoblauch, review of Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table, p. 12.

Library Journal, November 15, 2005, Judith Sutton, review of Sunday Suppers at Lucques, p. 89.

Los Angeles Magazine, May, 2003, Patric Kuh, "A. O.K. at the New Restaurant from the Lucques Team, Good Things Come on Small Plates," p. 88; May, 2005, Margot Dougherty, review of The Hungry Cat, p. 147.

Nation's Restaurant News, January 25, 1999, Amy Spector, "Suzanne Goin," p. 96.

New York Times, December 15, 2002, Michael Walker, "A Night Out With: Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne."

O, The Oprah Magazine, April, 2003, "Delicious by Design: Try Something Sumptuous from Chef Suzanne Goin," p. 238.

Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2005, review of Sunday Suppers at Lucques, p. 53.

Variety, February 14, 2005, Ginny Chien, "Purrrr-fect Eats: The Star Chefs behind A.O.C. and Opaline Will Soon Debut the ‘Hungry Cat’ Restaurant," p. S22.

Victoria, August, 2000, "Lucques—Caroline Styne and Suzanne Goin," p. 40.

ONLINE

Best of California Online,http://www.bestofcaliforniatv.com/ (April 15, 2006), American Express Best Chef Award nomination release.

Brown Alumni Magazine Online,http://www.brownalumnimagazine.com/ (April 15, 2006), Charlotte Bruce Harvey, "She Wants to Make You Cook."

Food and Wine Online,http://www.foodandwine.com/ (April 15, 2006), "America's Best New Chefs: 1999."

How to Cook Everything Web site,http://www.howtocookeverything.tv/ (April 15, 2006), brief biography of Suzanne Goin.

New York Metro,http://www.newyorkmetro.com/ (April 15, 2006), Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite, "Sunday: The New Saturday?"

San Diego Union Tribune Online,http://signonsandiego.com/ (April 15, 2006), Ron James, "Perfect Pairings."

Telegraph Online,http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ (April 15, 2006), "For a Great Meal, Away from the Paparazzi, Lucques Restaurant in Hollywood Is the Stars' Favorite, As Its Chef Suzanne Goin Explains."