JOËL ANTUNÈS

Born in Volvic, France, Joël Antunès spent a decade training with some of the country’s finest chefs, including Paul Bocuse, Michel Troigros and Marc Meneau. In 1988, he became head chef at The Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, before moving to the UK in 1991 to set up Les Saveurs in Curzon Street, Mayfair. The site quickly became one of London’s foremost destination restaurants, earning Joël a Michelin star in 1994 and recognition as “Restaurant of the Year” from Decanter Magazine.

Joël then moved to the USA in 1996 to work at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead, Atlanta earning the restaurant both a Mobil five-star award as well as an AAA Five-Diamond award, making it the only restaurant in the Southeast USA to simultaneously hold both accolades. He subsequently opened his own acclaimed and awarding-winning restaurant, Joël, in Atlanta in 1999. In 2005, Joël won the prestigious James Beard award for
Best Chef in the Southeast as well as the AAA Four-Diamond Award and the
Dirona Award.

Joël moved to New York in 2009 and became head chef at The Oak Room at The Plaza Hotel. A desire to return to the UK brought Joël back to London for the launch of the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel and Brasserie Joël in March 2010. After a short spell he then moved to Mayfair to launch Kitchen Joël Antunès in November 2011.