This week, Ira spoke with Chef Rick Moonen.
Chef Rick Moonen has devoted his career to being the country’s top culinary advocate for sustainable seafood.
A native New Yorker, Moonen graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in 1978. He apprenticed at L’Hostellerie Bressane in Hillsdale, New York where he built both his confidence and experience working side by side with Chef Jean Morel.
From there, Moonen assumed the position of saucier at Manhattan’s La Cote Basque. This experience was followed by two years at Le Cirque working with the legendary Alain Sailhac. In the ensuing years, Moonen continued his career in New York, becoming executive chef at some of New York’s most iconic restaurants, including Le Relais, Century Café and Chelsea Central before joining Buzzy O’Keefe at The Water Club.
After six years, Moonen left to become executive chef and partner at Oceana where he helped garner the restaurant national recognition and three stars from The New York Times. His next step was partnering to create Molyvos, a Greek fish house, further demonstrating the range of his culinary skills. Here he brought Greek cuisine to another level, and Molyvos was the first Greek restaurant to earn three stars from The New York Times.
After five years Moonen decided to develop his own restaurant. As executive chef and owner of New York City’s rm, Moonen earned critical acclaim and, once again, received three stars from The New York Times. In 2005, he was drawn to the rapidly developing culinary scene in Las Vegas and closed his doors in New York City to bring his unique flavor and specialties of the seafood world to the West Coast with his multi-level restaurant Rick Moonen’s rm seafood at Mandalay Bay.
