Biography of Rick Moonen

r•bar•.cafe, a modern seafood restaurant, offers regional coastal favorites and a bountiful world-class raw bar in a bustling market atmosphere. restaurant rm features Chef Moonen’s inventive and refined tasting and à la carte menus, a signature of his craft.

While executive chef and owner of New York City’s rm, Moonen earned critical acclaim and three stars from the New York Times and four stars from the 2005 Mobil Travel Guide.  Once signing his deal with Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Rick closed his restaurant in New York and moved to Las Vegas to personally oversee his new venture.

It would be difficult to name another chef, cooking anywhere in the world, whose acknowledged skill of fish cookery can match Chef Moonen’s. Pair this with his sophisticated culinary skills, passion for the sea (“our last wild frontier” as he calls it) a keen palate, sensitivity to the environment, an analytical mind, and an eye for seeing what’s great in “down-home” dining and translating it to a three-star dish -- and you’ve got Rick Moonen.

He is happiest doing what he loves best -- cooking, teaching and writing about fish and seafood. His new cookbook, Seafood Without a Doubt, will be a practical hands-on guide to cooking with fish and will be published in 2007 (Houghton-Mifflin).

A native New Yorker, Moonen graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York in 1978.  He apprenticed at L’Hostellerie Bressane in Hillsdale, New York.  With just two in the kitchen, himself and the Executive chef, they handled every aspect. This gave the young chef great confidence and experience.

From there Rick was off to Manhattan’s legendary La Cote Basque (1980) as saucier.  Two years at La Cote Basque were followed by two years at Le Cirque working with Alain Sailhac.  In the ensuing years, Rick stayed in New York and became the Executive Chef at Le Relais, Century Café and Chelsea Central before joining Buzzy O’Keefe at The Water Club (1988). He commanded this kitchen for six years before leaving to become Executive Chef and Partner at Oceana and later partnering in Molyvos which is where he helped develop the authentic Greek cuisine that earned three stars from The New York Times.

Among his many accolades, Moonen received the 1993 Chef of the Year Award for the Northeast Region from Chefs in America.  He is on the board of advisors for the French Culinary Institute and member of the corporation for the Culinary Institute of America.  Moonen is a contributing editor to Food & Wine Magazine, a frequent guest chef at the James Beard House and Macy’s De Gustibus Cooking School and has appeared on many of television’s most popular shows such as NBC’s “Today Show,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’s “The Early Show,” CNN’s “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” Fox 5 News in New York, and on PBS and Food Network shows such as Cooking Live with Sara Moulton.

Moonen also is a devoted advocate for sustainable seafood, dedicated to educating about the dangers of over-fishing and ocean conservation. As an industry leader, he has testified several times for environmental and sustainable policy issues in Washington, DC and New York. As a founding member of the Chef’s Coalition, he brought together 2,000 chefs nationwide to fight for the purity of food. He is a founding member of the Seafood Choices Alliances and an active member of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Seaweb, and a chef’s advisory board member of Ecofish. He also has served as a spokesperson for American caviar, a growing market and environmentally sound alternative to the Caspian Sea varieties and is often quoted for his expertise with various indigenous and exotic fish.

Rick has advised and worked with several nationally known food companies and is the official American representative for Oliviers & Co., importers of fine oils and olive oil products.  Rick has been a contributing editor to Food & Wine Magazine, and has steered many charitable, food-related committees such as AIWF’s “Days of Taste” children’s program and Share our Strength’s (SOS) Restaurant Committee.