Charles R. Palmer, renowned Master Chef and entrepreneur and CIA guest innovator.

Charlie Palmer

Renowned Master Chef and Entrepreneur; CEO, The Charlie Palmer Group

Since the beginning of his celebrated career, master Chef, hospitality entrepreneur, and hotelier Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature Progressive American cooking, a style built on rambunctious flavors and unexpected combinations with a deep and lasting infusion of classical French cuisine. Charlie Palmer’s upbringing on a farm in upstate New York, along with his education in various kitchens in France and at The Culinary Institute of America, provided him with the wherewithal to form this unique style and ultimately strike out on his own. In 1988, he made a significant commitment to creating dishes featuring regional American ingredients at his sublime Aureole, originally situated in a historic townhouse off Manhattan’s Madison Avenue and now in a spectacular new location in the heart of New York City’s radiant theater district.

Over the years, Palmer combined his creative cooking spirit and flair for business to open dozens of notable restaurants across the country, award-winning boutique hotels, and a growing collection of food-forward wine shops. These include: Michelin-starred Aureole and its less formal counterpart, Liberty Room at Aureole, Charlie Palmer Steak, Crimson & Rye, Upper Story by Charlie Palmer, the all-new Charlie Palmer at The Knick, JAKE’s @ The Knick and St. Cloud, all at The Knickerbocker Hotel (New York City); Charlie Palmer Steak, (Washington, DC); Aureole at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, and Charlie Palmer Steak at the Four Seasons, (Las Vegas, NV); Charlie Palmer Steak and Briscola in Reno, NV; Dry Creek Kitchen at his boutique Hotel Healdsburg, (Sonoma County, CA); as well as two hotels and restaurants in the Bay Area with his Palmer City-Core partners, Mystic Hotel by Charlie Palmer and Burritt Room + Tavern (San Francisco, CA); and Harvest Inn by Charlie Palmer and its newly opened restaurant, Harvest Table (St. Helena, CA).

A 20-year board member of Citymeals-on-Wheels and longtime supporter of Share our Strength, Chef Palmer and his namesake restaurant and hotel group frequently give back to the community with their trademarked, signature events. A weekend long food and beverage experience at the Hotel Healdsburg, Pigs & Pinot is an annual celebration of award-winning Pinot Noirs, heritage pork, and acclaimed national and local chefs combining their star power and talents to raise serious funds for local Sonoma charities and scholarships, and Share our Strength.

A member of James Beard “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America,” inducted into the casino community’s Gaming Hall of Fame in 2011 and named Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Culinary Institute of America in 2012, Palmer is a respected and admired hospitality figurehead. A frequent guest on NBC’s Today Show, Charlie Palmer is also the author of six cookbooks, Great American Food (Random House/1996), Charlie Palmer’s Casual Cooking (Harper Collins/2001), The Art of Aureole, (Ten Speed Press/2002), Charlie Palmer’s Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen (Melcher Media/2006), Remington Camp Cooking by Charlie Palmer (Charlie Palmer Group/2013), and Charlie Palmer’s American Fare (Grand Central Life & Style/April 2015).

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