Le Papillon (the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
word for ''butterfly'', ) is a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
located in
San Jose, California.
Le Papillon is located on a busy street corner between a hotel and a strip mall.
Although the surrounding area is prosaic, the restaurant is "elegant (and expensive)".
Customers are pampered by "many people in suits".
Le Papillon specializes in contemporary French cuisine.
Owner Mike Mashayekh opened Le Papillon in 1977 in a remodeled coffee shop at its current location.
Mashayekh was also co-owner of the La Foret restaurant (another French restaurant in San Jose) with John Davoudi. Mashayekh and Davoudi were friends before they immigrated to the United States. They had been in the
Iranian Army together
[Alt URL]
Volume 9, Issue 4, August 2004 before the
overthrow
Overthrow may refer to:
* Overthrow, a change in government, often achieved by force or through a coup d'état.
**The 5th October Overthrow, or Bulldozer Revolution, the events of 2000 that led to the downfall of Slobodan Milošević in the former ...
of
the Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
.
Before moving to San Jose, Mashayekh had lived in
Santa Maria, California where he met and married the mother of Scott Cooper (Le Papillon's Executive Chef). Cooper was a young boy at the time. The family moved to San Jose so that Mashayekh could attend
San Jose State University.
Staff
Executive Chef Scott Cooper was born in
Santa Maria, California and was 12 years old when his stepfather Mike Mashayekh opened Le Papillon. Cooper attended
Leland High School in San Jose. Cooper joined Le Papillon's staff in 1992.
He started as a dishwasher, and moved up to bus boy, prep cook, pantry, line cook, and many other positions, before becoming the Executive Chef. He also cooked for eight years at La Foret, the sister restaurant of Le Papillon. Cooper's wife is a niece of Mashayekh's partner John Davoudi.
Cooper is an avid exerciser who
runs and
mountain bikes.
Brian Fernando is
Sous Chef.
Camron Mashayekh (Mike Mashayekh's son
) is Le Papillon's
General manager and
Sommelier.
Jondel Goldsmith is in charge of
Catering and Special Events.
Omid Najian is Assistant Catering Director.
Ratings
Zagat Survey, in its ''San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants 2010'', rated Le Papillon 27/30 for food, 23/30 for decor, and 27/30 for service. Zagat interprets these ratings as "extraordinary to perfection" for food and service, and "very good to excellent" for decor. Also, Zagat found Le Papillon to be one of the top two restaurants in the
South Bay Area for service.
The 2005 Zagat Survey ranked Le Papillon as one of the
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
's top five restaurants, giving it the highest marks for any Bay Area restaurant south of San Francisco.
Foie gras protests in 2010
Animal activists conducted weekly
street demonstrations
A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...
at Le Papillon from April 3, 2010 to October 23, 2010, protesting the serving of
foie gras by the restaurant. The weekly protest was conducted b
Santa Clara County Activists for Animals(SCCAA), a local group of animal-protection advocates. The protesters held signs and spoke to restaurant customers, offering them literature and asking them to ask the restaurant to stop serving foie gras. The
protesters expressed the view that the method of foie gras production, including the
force-feeding of ducks, is cruel and inhumane.
The protests ended when the restaurant removed foie gras from their menu and informed SCCAA that they would no longer serve it.
A
California law (SB 1520) enacted in 2004 prohibits the production and sale of foie gras in California, but the law didn't go into effect until July 1, 2012.
See also
*
Foie gras controversy
The production of foie gras (the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened) involves the controversial force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domesticall ...
*
West San Jose
References
External links
*
La Foret Restaurant San Jose, California -- sister restaurant to Le Papillon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papillon
French-American culture in California
French restaurants in California
Restaurants in San Jose, California
Restaurants established in 1977
1977 establishments in California