Chef Passot grew up in Lyon, the culinary capital of France, and began cooking as an apprentice at the age of fifteen. Trained by some of France’s most famous chefs, Passot soon became an assistant to Chef Jean Paul Lacombe, the two Michelin star Chef of French Gastronomic institution Léon de Lyon.
He then helped Pierre Orsi open his namesake restaurant, “A Lyon Institution”. Chef Orsi then sent Chef Passot to Chicago, where he spent four years cooking at Le Francais, before being hired away to open The French Room at the legendary Adolphus luxury hotel in Dallas. There, Chef Passot earned national accolades for his cuisine, which he served to both Hollywood celebrities and European royalty.
After a brief stint at the renowned Chez Michel in San Francisco, Chef Passot opened La Folie in 1988, his own groundbreaking and distinctive restaurant. Unlike other celebrity chefs, Roland Passot is a hands-on gastronome, intimately involved in the daily running of his restaurant. His clientele can still find him in the kitchen every night of the week. Cooking at La Folie is his passion.
Some accolades-
Chef Roland has been awarded the James Beard Award for Best Rising Star Chef in 1990, James Beard Best Chef in California 2005-2007, inducted into the Maitres Cuisinier de France in 1991, Best Food and Best French Restaurant by Zagat Best French Restaurant in 7×7 Magazine, 4-starts by the San Francisco Magazine, 4-stars by the San Francisco Chronicle, Gayot top 40 restaurants in the US. La Folie has been on the SF Chronicle’s Top 100 Restaurant List since its 1st publication in 1998.
Honors & Awards
