Wine Spectator picks Chef Mavro among eleven most important French chefs working in America

 
the eleven most impor­tant French chefs work­ing in Amer­ica – oth­ers include Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud, Pierre Gag­naire, Eric Ripert & Joel Robuchon
HONOLULU – The new issue of Wine Spec­ta­tor Mag­a­zine hon­ors George Mavrotha­las­si­tis, chef/owner of Chef Mavro restau­rant, as one of the eleven “most impor­tant French chefs work­ing in Amer­ica today” and “They all work at the top of their field, and each brings the mas­tery of French tech­nique to the tastes and bounty of North Amer­ica.” The mag­a­zine notes “Chef Mavro restau­rant in Hon­olulu is one of the most acclaimed restau­rants in the United States.”
In addi­tion to Chef Mavro, the com­plete list of chefs in this rar­i­fied group are: New York — Alain Ducasse, Adour; Daniel Boulud, Daniel, and Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin; Philadel­phia — Georges Per­rier, Le Bec-Fin; in Chicago Jean Joho, Ever­est; Las Vegas — Pierre Gag­naire, Twist, Joel Robu­chon, Joel Robu­chon Restau­rant, and Guy Savoy, Restau­rant Guy Savoy; San Fran­cisco — Hubert Keller, Fleur de Lys; and Pasadena — David Feau, The Royce at the Langham.
“I’m excited for Hawaii to be on the Wine Spec­ta­tor map and to be one of the cho­sen eleven! My cui­sine com­bines French tech­nique and a pas­sion for wine pair­ing with Hawaii’s regional influ­ences. Most of the other eleven are cook­ing more French,” com­ments Mavro.
Chef Mavro is often rated with these and other top chefs includ­ing the cur­rent Gayot “2011 Top 40 Restau­rants in the U.S.” where his restau­rant is the only win­ner in Hawaii in the com­pany of The French Laun­dry and Gary Danko in Cal­i­for­nia; Per Se, Jean Georges, Le Bernadin and Eleven Madi­son Park in New York; Joel Robu­chon in Las Vegas; and Alinea and Char­lie Trotter’s in Chicago. Chef Mavro restau­rant also holds Gayot’s only Three Toques 18/20 rat­ing in Hawaii. The Amer­i­can Auto­mo­bile Asso­ci­a­tion awarded Chef Mavro “Five Diamonds.”
The menu at this restau­rant is rein­vented each sea­son as the culi­nary team works hand-in-hand with local farm­ers to bring new prod­ucts to the table, and to develop inno­v­a­tive tech­niques that enhance the nat­ural fla­vors of Hawaii’s bounty. Also, Chef Mavro restau­rant is a rec­og­nized leader in food & wine pair­ings and may still be the only restau­rant of its cal­iber to offer excit­ing wines by the glass care­fully paired with each course rather than a wine list.
George Mavrotha­las­si­tis, a found­ing mem­ber of Hawaii Regional Cui­sine, won the James Beard Award, a one-time life­time achieve­ment and the top culi­nary honor in the U.S. Updates on Twit­ter and Face­book. Reser­va­tions con­firmed online 24/7 at www.chefmavro.com
Note: A photo and recipe for Chef Mavro’s Tako — Socca, a home cook­ing recipe,  is also fea­tured in the story.