André Soltner (born 1932 in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, France) is an internationally recognized French

chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

and author working in the United States. He may be one of America's first superstar chefs.

Background

Soltner started his career at the age of 15 at the Hôtel du Parc,

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...

, in his native Alsace and later became chef-owner of New York City's French restaurant Lutèce, which achieved a four-star rating from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Soltner missed only five days of work in 34 years at Lutèce.

Achievements

André has received more than 25 awards, including the French government's prestigious

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

and Officier du Mérite National. Highlights of his other recognitions include the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

Lifetime Achievement Award,

Meilleur Ouvrier de France ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (shortened to MOF) is a competition for craftsmen held in France every four years. The winning candidates receive a medal. Description The title of ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' is a unique and prestigious award i ...

, and the Chevalier du Mérite Agricole Soltner is a member of several culinary organizations, including the American Institute of Wine & Food, for which he and his wife Simone established the André and Simone Soltner Food Education Scholarship to assist applicants seeking a culinary career. Soltner is a member of the

American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was established in 1929 in New York City and is the largest professional chefs' organization in North America. It was the progeny of the combined visions of three chefs' associations in New York City, the Soci� ...

, the Chef de Cuisine Association of America and the Société de Cuisiniers de France. He previously served for more than 20 years as Délegué Général of the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France (Master Chefs of France) and is a trustee of the Société Culinaire Philanthropique. He co-authored ''The Lutèce Cookbook''. On 13 May 2010, Soltner, along with other chefs from the French Culinary Institute (now known as The

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by D ...

) (

Jacques Pepin Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

Jacques Torres Jacques Torres (born 14 June 1959) is a French pastry chef and chocolatier based in New York. Torres is a member of the International Culinary Center community as Dean of Pastry Arts, as well as holding pastry demonstrations. He appears on the sh ...

and

Alain Sailhac Alain Pierre Sailhac (7 January 1936 – 1 December 2022) was a French internationally recognized chef working in New York City, where he held the position of executive vice president and dean emeritus at The International Culinary Center, founded ...

), prepared a $30,000-per-couple dinner for U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's fund-raiser for the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

at Manhattan's St. Regis hotel.

Soltner today

Soltner serves as Dean of Classic Studies at the French Culinary Institute, part of the new

in New York City.

References

External links

New York TimesLutece CookbookThe International Culinary Center
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soltner, Andre French chefs French food writers Living people 1932 births French male non-fiction writers James Beard Foundation Award winners French restaurateurs