Chef Michael Farrell

Michael Farrell hails from central Virginia and growing up,  he observed with awe as his mother carefully planned and shopped for the frequent cocktail and dinner parties she and her husband hosted at their home. 

“I learned as a boy from watching my parents entertain,” Farrell said. “It is in the smallest of gestures that the gap is bridged, from ordinary dining to extraordinary dining. Of course it is the food,” he said. “But it is also the shade of the flowers, the texture and fragrance of fresh herbs, the placement of a napkin, a warm welcome upon arrival.”

Michael started working in professional kitchens at the age of fifteen, and never looked back.  Over twenty-five years later he has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, DiRoNA, Wine Spectator, Zagat and Bon Appetite, in a career that has taken him across the United States.

Michael has served in a variety of prominent positions including Owner and Executive Chef of Nantucket’s  Summer House and Executive Chef of Colorado establishments such as Beano’s Cabin and Saddle Ridge in Beaver Creek and Castle Pines in Denver.  Chef Farrell also opened Anthem Country Club in Las Vegas.

In January 2009, that same warm welcome Chef Farrell is careful to share, was extended to him in New Orleans when he took the lead as Executive Chef and F&B  Operations Manager at the Maison Dupuy Hotel. In March of that year he opened his first restaurant in New Orleans, Le Meritage, which features his signature Southern Coastal Cuisine on a menu that offers each dish in small and large portions while pairing with half and full glasses of wine.

Since moving to New Orleans Chef Farrell has taken the culinary scene by storm.

Recently recieving 4 Beans and 4 Star ratings by the city’s top restaurant critics was just the beginning. Farrell has been featured in Louisiana Cookin’, New Orleans Homes and Life Style, New Orleans Weddings, Esquire and Playboy Magazine to name a few.

Farrell also won a Gold Medal in 2010 Taste of New Orleans and was one of three local chef’s representing the crescent city in Montreal’s “Festival of Lights.”

Chef Farrell was also invited to do a dinner at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City.

Most recently, in September of 2010, Chef Farrell opened his second restaurant in the Maison Dupuy. Bistreaux, featuring “Inspired Comfort Food” and live music every night, is a change of pace for those who are fans of Farrell’s food, but are looking for a more relaxed and casual environment.

There is a formula, he says, by which a chef may arrive at his or her personal culinary vision: “You bring together all the foods you grew up loving,  all of the ideas that have inspired you, and all of the things you have in front of you in abundance. From this collection of influences, you make something wonderful.”