Bocuse Restaurant to open at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park

Thursday January 31, 2013 5:30 PM By Bryan Miller

Photo credit: Culinary Institute of America/Phil Mansfield | The front door at Bocuse Restaurant, which opens Feb. 15, 2013, at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

Paul Bocuse, the apotheosized French chef who soon turns 87, remains the best-known culinarian on the planet -- or at least among those without giddy television shows. On Friday, Feb. 15, he will attain yet another honor: a stylish new restaurant bearing his name officially will debut at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, and Bocuse will be on hand for a grand celebratory banquet that night to be attended by leading U.S. chefs.

The Bocuse Restaurant replaces the former Escoffier, which served as the school’s classic French restaurant for 38 years before closing in July. In contrast to its somewhat stodgy predecessor, the new dining room is sunny, modern and less formal.

The menu will present “creative new interpretations of classics selected from the bistros of the French countryside, as well as the sophisticated restaurants of Paris,” said Timothy Ryan, the school’s president. “We are not trying to create something ultra-modern and conceptual, but we had to move on from the strict classics of Escoffier. I think people will be surprised, and love it.”

Limited reservations will be accepted from Feb. 6 until the official opening Feb. 15. The restaurant is on the Culinary Institute of America campus at 1946 Campus Drive in Hyde Park; 845-452-9600; ciarestaurants.com.

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