Inspiration

"A highly revved culinary engine… Mr. Liebrandt makes you use taste buds that other chefs ignore." - The New York Times

Chef Paul Liebrandt’s food melds the tradition of classical cuisine with a contemporary, personal approach to ingredients and technique and a uniquely graphic visual style. His restaurant, Corton, at which he is Chef and Owner, has been at the forefront of the New York and national dining scene since opening in October 2008, having been honored with two Michelin stars, three stars by The New York Times, and enshrinement in Esquire magazine’s industry pantheon, its Best New Restaurants list.

As a teenager growing up in London, England, Liebrandt cooked for some the world’s most esteemed restaurants and chefs including Marco Pierre White at his Michelin three-star restaurant, Raymond Blanc at Le Manor Aux Quat’ Saisons in Oxford, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the London outpost of Vong. He traces his turning point from cook to chef to a life-changing year he spent working under the brilliant Pierre Gagnaire at his eponymous three-star restaurant in Paris, France. Following that experience, Liebrandt moved to New York City in 1999, where he worked briefly for David Bouley, at Bouley Bakery.

In 2000, Liebrandt first became a chef in his own right at Atlas restaurant on Central Park South. In November of that year, at the age of 24, he earned the distinction of youngest chef ever awarded three stars by The New York Times: critic William Grimes praised his “daring, distinctive style,” likening him to “a pianist who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys.”

After leaving Atlas, Liebrandt cooked at Papillion, then for numerous high-profile clients including Lord Rothschild and HRH Prince Andrew. He continued to hone his style at Gilt before opening Corton in 2008. In addition to the aforementioned honors, Corton was nominated as Best New Restaurant in the United States by the James Beard Foundation and earned four (out of five) stars from New York Magazine and six (out of six) stars from Time Out, New York.

In 2013 Liebrandt opened The Elm in Brooklyn, which after six weeks of being open was voted best new restaurant in the USA in Esquire magazine’s industry pantheon, its Best New Restaurants list. In 2015 Chef Liebrandt founded the Crumpet Management group which consults and manages on multiple projects globally.

Liebrandt has been profiled in Vogue, Men’s Health, W Magazine, UK Sunday Telegraph, Men’s Health, W Magazine and many others. In 2009, Food & Wine Magazine named him one of the Best New Chefs in the United States. In 2011 the HBO documentary ‘A matter of taste- serving up Paul Liebrandt’ was released which garnered an Emmy nomination and won best documentary at the James Beard Awards in 2012.His first book ‘To the bone’ will be published by Clarkson Potter in December 2013.

Paul Liebrandt lives in New York City.