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Wylie Dufresne Wylie Dufresne was born in 1970 in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of a designer and a restaurateur. In 1977 he moved to New York. In 1992 he completed a B.A. in philosophy at Colby College in Maine. After college Wylie enrolled at the French Culinary Institute in New York. After graduation he was employed at Jo Jo's from 1994 to 1997. Wylie was then hired to work on the opening of Jean Georges, eventually becoming the sous chef. In 1998 Wylie was hired as chef de cuisine at Vongerichten's Prime in The Bellagio, Las Vegas. In 1999 he left Prime to become the first chef at 71 Clinton Fresh Food, a 30-seat restaurant on Manhattan's Lower East. Dufresne opened wd~50 (named for the chef's initials and the street address), a 70-seat restaurant with a state of the art kitchen, in April of 2003, on Clinton Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. His partners in the venture are chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten and restaurateur Phil Suarez. In 2000 Wylie was a James Beard nominee for Rising Star Chef of the year. In 2004 wd~50 was nominated by the James Beard Foundation in the category of Best New Restaurant. In 2005, Restaurant Magazine (UK) voted wd~50 thirty fourth in its annual "The World's Best Restaurants" issue. In New York magazine's 101 Best Restaurants edition (January 9, 2006), wd~50 was awarded four stars (out of a potential five) and was ranked fourth restaurant overall. In 2006 in the Michelin Guide's inaugural American edition wd~50 received one star, which it retained in 2007 and 2008. The James Beard Foundation nominated Wylie for Best Chef New York in 2007. In May of 2007, Wylie was conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University. For further information: Rachael Carron (212-477-2900) 
Kevin Heston Kevin Heston, wd~50's sous chef, went to culinary school at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. During his time at school he also worked at Crofton on Wells. On graduating from culinary school, Kevin worked at MK with chef Michael Kornick in Chicago for three years where he was the sous chef for just under two years. He began working at wd~50 in November of 2004 and before becoming the sous chef in November 2006, worked most of the stations in the kitchen.  
Alex Stupak Alex Stupak was born April 21st, 1980. He became the pastry chef at wd~50 in August of 2006. Chef Stupak, most recently the pastry chef at the much praised Alinea in Chicago, attended the Culinary Institute of America and has worked at Tru (Chicago), the Federalist (Boston), and Clio (Boston). Twenty-six year old Stupak was the Pastry Chef at Alinea since it opened in May of 2005 with Grant Achatz as the Chef. Stupak has garnered much praise for his desserts, which display a bold yet perfectly considered approach to flavor while utilizing many of the cutting edge techniques that are also being employed at wd~50. |
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