Wylie Dufresne (born 1970) is the chef and owner of Du's Donuts and the former chef and owner of the wd~50 and Alder restaurants in Manhattan. Dufresne is a leading American proponent of

molecular gastronomy Molecular gastronomy is the scientific approach of nutrition from primarily the perspective of chemistry. The composition ( molecular structure), properties (mass, viscosity, etc) and transformations (chemical reactions, reactant products) o ...

, the movement to incorporate science and new techniques in the preparation and presentation of food.

Early life

Born in 1970 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, Dufresne is a graduate of

Friends Seminary Friends Seminary is an independent K-12 school in Manhattan within the landmarked district in the East Village. The oldest continuously coeducational school in New York City, Friends Seminary serves 794 students in Kindergarten through Grade 1 ...

and The French Culinary Institute (now known as The

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute b ...

) in New York. In 1992, he completed a B.A. in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanth ...

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is ...

Career

From 1994 through 1999, he worked for

Jean-Georges Vongerichten Jean-Georges Vongerichten (; ; born in Alsace, France, on 16 March 1957) is a French chef.

, where he was eventually named sous chef at Vongerichten's eponymous Jean Georges. In 1998 he was chef de cuisine at Vongerichten's Prime in The Bellagio, Las Vegas. In 1999, he left to become the first chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food. In April 2003, he opened his 70-seat restaurant, wd~50 (named for the chef's initials and the street address, as well as a pun on

WD-40 WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark of a penetrating oil manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. The formula for WD-40 was invented for the Rocket Chemical Company as early as 1953 before it evolved int ...

) on Clinton Street on Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. In March 2013, he opened a second restaurant Alder in the East Village. wd-50 closed 30 November 2014 and Alder closed in August 2015. Dufresne was a

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

nominee for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2000 and chosen the same year by

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

for their New York Awards. Food & Wine magazine named him one of 2001 America's Ten Best Chefs award and, in 2006, New York Magazine's Adam Platt placed wd-50 fourth in his list of New York's 101 best restaurants. He was awarded a star in Michelin's New York City Guide, 2006, 2007, and 2008, the first Red Guide for North America, and was nominated for Best Chef New York by the James Beard Foundation. His signature preparations include Pickled Beef Tongue with Fried Mayonnaise and Carrot-Coconut Sunnyside-Up. In 2006, Dufresne lost to

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; and Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and N ...

on ''

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, w ...

''. In 2007, he began making appearances as a judge on Bravo's

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional che ...

, which includes

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

, season 4, season 5, season 7 and season 12. He was invited to participate in

Top Chef Masters ''Top Chef Masters'' is an American reality competition series that aired on the cable television network Bravo, and premiered June 10, 2009. It is a spinoff of Bravo's hit show ''Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition te ...

in 2009, where he placed third out of four in the preliminary rounds. Dufresne also appeared in the final of the United Kingdom version of

Masterchef ''MasterChef'' is a competitive cooking show television format created by Franc Roddam, which originated with the UK version in July 1990. The format was revived and updated for the BBC in February 2005 by executive producers Roddam and John ...

, teaching the eventual winner. He appeared as himself in the 5th Episode of HBO's Treme alongside

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

Eric Ripert The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and

David Chang David Chang (Korean: ; born August 5, 1977) is an American restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin stars, which the restaura ...

. He is mentioned in the opening episode of HBO's Silicon Valley for creating Liquid Shrimp. When asked how it tastes, Guilfoyle responds, "Like how I would imagine cum tastes" In 2013, Dufresne won the

's Best NYC Chef. It was his 10th nomination and first win. Dufresne’s wd50 restaurant in New York City closed in 2014. Du's Donuts (57292)

In April 2017, Dufresne, along with head baker Colin Kull and general manager Sharilyn Chavez, took over a pop-up space at the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg as Du's Donuts & Coffee. The pop-up grew into a small chain that now has locations in Soho and Brooklyn. Dufresne's cookbook ''wd~50'', co-written with Peter Meehan, was published in October 2017.

References

External links

Du's Donuts

Podcast interview with Wylie Dufresne
April 2008.
Big Think video interview
August 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufresne, Wylie 1970 births Living people American television chefs American male chefs Colby College alumni International Culinary Center alumni Molecular gastronomy Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Date of birth missing (living people) Businesspeople from Providence, Rhode Island Businesspeople from New York City James Beard Foundation Award winners Friends Seminary alumni Chefs from Rhode Island American gastronomes