Le Jeune Chef Restaurant

Lifelong Education Center, Rm. B107 · For reservations phone (570) 320-CHEF or (570) 320-2433

Visiting Chef

* This biography was accurate at the time of the chef's appearance on campus. (February 1, 1996)

Jean-Louis Palladin

Jean-Louis Palladin is a two-star Michelin chef. His namesake five diamond restaurant in the nation's capital is among the most prestigious fine dining establishments in the U.S. His instinctive style of French cuisine results in a culinary symphony of taste, texture, and appearance, influenced by classical training, Southwestern French heritage and an insatiable desire for experimentation.

Jean-Louis is a native of France, where he began classical training at the age of 12 and served the world-renowned Hotel De Paris in Monte-Carolo and the Plaza Athenee in Paris. He became the youngest chef to have earned the coveted Michelin star an, in fact, earned two stars by the age of 28. From his own restaurant, La Table Des Cordeliers in his hometown of Condom, France, Jean-Louis became one of the pioneers of European contemporary cuisine.

In 1979, the creator of the Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C., Nicholas Salgo, discovered Jean-Louis and enticed him to the U.S. to open the restaurant that bears his name. The world-class Jean-Louis at the Watergate is in the heart of the city, adjacent to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It offers an intimate setting, seating only 42 guest for dinner. The menu at Jean-Louis changes daily and is hand-written by the chef himself. Also at the Watergate Hotel is Palladin, a less formal restaurant with a brasserie-style menu.

Many of Jean-Louis' creations may be found in his new book, "Jean-Louis: Cooking With the Seasons", which contains over 120 full-color photographs and a tested recipe section with treasured Jean-Louis favorites.