EPISODE 5 Mark Bittman vs. Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Jean-Georges

Bittman and Vongerichten - considered by some to be America's greatest chef - have worked together for fifteen years (they've produced two books and are working on a third) so it's no surprise they seem so relaxed together. When, cooking in the stunning kitchen of his eponymous restaurant on Central Park West, Jean-Georges produces squab with Jordan almonds, Bittman asks, "What is this, the most bizarre dish ever created?" but responds with Cornish hen with Red Hots.

Vongerichten dazzles Bittman with a fish preparation based on a stunning Asian broth; Bittman can only respond with what he terms a "tribute" to one of his mentors, sesame-crusted fish with soy and butter. Finally, the two prepare competing desserts featuring caramelized apples - and both are sensational.


MEET THE CHEF Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Jean-Georges Vongerichten

At Jo Jo, he introduced us to his 'vibrant and spare cuisine' whose intense flavors and satisfying textures he created by eschewing traditional meat stocks for vegetables juices and fruit essences, light broths and herbal vinaigrettes. Jo Jo was named Best New Restaurant of the Year by John Mariani in Esquire and earned three-stars from The New York Times, which summed up his contemporary French cuisine in the sentence "His food took my breath away."

Jean-Georges' next venture, Vong, paid homage to the spices and flavors of the East, a passion he developed during the three and a half years he lived and worked in the Orient. Using over 150 different herbs and spices to create his unique take on Thai-inspired French cuisine, the menu at Vong wowed both critics and patrons, earning yet another three-star review from The New York Times for his "explosively flavorful food." In an adjacent space to Vong, Vongerichten also opened The Lipstick Cafe, a stylish cafe that caters to the midtown business crowd and serves breakfast and lunch in a casual, upscale setting.

A year and a half later in November of 1995, Vongerichten opened a second Vong in the Knightsbridge area of London, earning a three star review and the 1996 vote for the London Evening Standard's Newcomer of the Year. In September 1997, he opened Vong in The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong, where he also received accolades from local media, such as Best Restaurant in the World in 1999 Robb's Report. In 1999, Vong Chicago opened; in September 2001 after a facelift Vong's Thai Kitchen was born. An Asian Cafe using the same bold flavors as Vong, with emphasis on salads and noodle dishes and pizzas. Vong's Thai Kitchen is a success both with its patrons and the media..

March 1997 saw the opening of Jean Georges in the Trump International Hotel and Tower, earning a 4-star review from The New York Times in an unprecedented record time of less than three months after it opened, as well as the coveted Chef of the Year award from John Mariani at Esquire magazine. Jean-Georges received the unprecedented "Best New Restaurant" and Outstanding Chef awards from the James Beard Foundation in 1998 for Jean Georges.

In September 1998, Mercer Kitchen was opened. A month later, in October 1998, Jean Georges opened Prime Steakhouse in the much-anticipated Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Jean-Georges opened Dune at the Ocean Club in the Bahamas in October 2000 with a décor by Christian Liaigre. In September 2001, JoJo reopened with a facelift bringing back the luxury and warmth of a turn of the last century décor rich in velvet and silk.. October 2001 marked the return of Jean-Georges to his sources with the opening of Market in Paris.

Alsatian Roots and Traditional Training

Born and raised on the outskirts of Strasbourg in Alsace, Jean-Georges' earliest family memories are about food. The Vongerichten home centered around the kitchen, where each day his mother and grandmother would prepare lunch for the almost 50 employees in their family-owned business. "I would wake every morning to the most wonderful smells," reminisces Jean-Georges "and I quickly became known as 'the palate' to my family, tasting each sauce and dish, recommending salt or some more herbs." His love for food cemented into his choice for a career at the age of 16, when his parents brought him to the 3-star Michelin-rated Auberge de l'Ill for a birthday dinner.

Jean-Georges began his training soon after in a work-study program at the Auberge de l'Ill as an apprentice to chef Paul Haeberlin. He went on to work with the top chefs in France, including Paul Bocuse and master-chef Louis Outhier at L'Oasis in the south of France. With this impressive three-star Michelin training, Vongerichten won a position at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. From 1980 to 1985, he opened an impressive 10 restaurants around the world, including the Meridien Hotel in Singapore and the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong; it was during this time spent in Asia that Jean-Georges developed his love for the exotic and aromatic flavors of the East that would later translate into his own interpretation on his menu at Vong.

Jean-Georges arrived in the United States in 1985, opening the Lafayette restaurant in Boston. A year later he arrived in New York to take over the executive chef position at Lafayette there.

Awards and Accolades, plus a Cookbook or Three

Jean-Georges Vongerichten currently holds an unprecedented total of twelve stars from The New York Times for his four New York City restaurants, Jean Georges, JoJo, Vong and Mercer Kitchen. In 1998 Jean-Georges was awarded three medals at the James Beard Restaurant Awards - Best New Restaurant, Outstanding Chef, and Who's Who of Food & Beverage; it is the first time that a chef was awarded best new restaurant and outstanding chef in the same year. In 1999, The James Beard Foundation gave its Best Cookbook award to Cooking at Home with a Four S tar Chef.

In September 2000, Broadway Books published Jean-Georges' third cookbook Simple to Spectacular, which takes a basic recipe and brings in four increasingly sophisticated variations. In September of 1998 Broadway Books published Jean-Georges' second cookbook, Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef, which adapts recipes from all of his restaurants for the home cook. His first book, Simple Cuisine features recipes that include his vegetable broths and vinaigrettes and the clean flavors he favors at Jo Jo. Jean-Georges has appeared as a guest on Live! with Regis & Kathie Lee, the Today Show and Good Morning America, Martha Stewart Living, as well as doing several guest spots on the TV Food Network. He is featured in the PBS series, In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs with Julia Child, broadcast in 1995.