STEPHANE ISTEL
Chef de Cuisine
Chef de Cuisine Stephane Istel comes to Vancouver by way of the New York kitchens of Chef Daniel Boulud's Dinex Group restaurants, first as a lead Sous-Chef at midtown's DB Bistro Moderne, and later as a lead Chef at Daniel's elite Feast & Fetes catering division.
Stephane worked side by side with the three Michelin starred Boulud and his extraordinary team, adopting the Boulud style of seasonally-driven, market fresh cooking. "I have seen Stephane demonstrate real care for his craft as well as the discipline it takes to cook at a consistently high level of quality," says Boulud.
Chef Istel began cooking in his native Alsace, France at the young age of 15. At 22, he began summer season cooking at the Tahiti Restaurant in St. Tropez, and spent winters in the kitchens of the five-star La Samanna Hotel, and later the Restaurant Michel Royer in St. Martin. Stephane credits his years at the seaside with an indelible appreciation for fresh seafood and his lingering fondness for delicate fish like daurude and loup de mer, and for his passion for the flavourful herbs and produce that are so abundant in Mediterranean cooking.
Stephane credits his first mentor, Michel Royer, a 'Maitre Cuisinier de France', for exposing him to the world of culinary possibility. Before leaving France for North America, Stephane worked briefly at Chef Marc Veyrat's l'Auberge de l'Eridan on the Lake of Annecy, where he savoured his first taste of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux standard of culinary and service excellence. Upon his arrival to New York, his longtime friend and DB Bistro Moderne Chef Olivier Muller introduced him to Daniel Boulud.
Ironically, it would seem that every step along the road of Stephane's culinary experience uniquely prepared him for his position as Chef de Cuisine at a Daniel Boulud run restaurant in Vancouver. The unique cosmopolitan nature of the people, the seaside location and sophisticated culinary scene add up to a match made in culinary heaven for Stephane.
To see and hear Stephane and Daniel at work together in the kitchen and dining room of db Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, visit our db Video pages.
Chef de Cuisine Stephane Istel, joined Daniel Boulud in New York working as a lead Sous-Chef at midtown's DB Bistro Moderne, then later as a lead Chef of Daniel's elite Feast & Fetes catering. When the time came for a DB Bistro Moderne in Vancouver, Stephane could not resist the opportunity to work in a city with such an ample supply of fresh ingredients. Stephane Istel is elevating the French culinary scene in Vancouver, BC by producing plates with simple food in a casual atmosphere at affordable prices.