Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Famed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten is up for one of this year's most prestigious James Beard Awards, but that's hardly the biggest thing on his mind. Fortune profiles the New York chef and his aggressive plans to open 50 new restaurants in the next five years.

Vongerichten, who already has 24 restaurants under his belt, has created a joint venture, Culinary Concepts by Jean-Georges, with Starwood Hotels and Catterton Partners, a private equity firm credited with turning P.F. Chang's into a national chain. The company's goal? To bring high-end cuisine to the masses in the same way Starbucks brought designer coffee to every corner of the world.

The venture will expand Vongerichten's name with three prototype restaurants: J&G Steakhouse, a steakhouse inspired by the success of Prime in Las Vegas; Spice Market, an homage to Asian street food based on the chef's wildly successful flagship in New York; and Market, a showcase for Vongerichten's signature dishes, such as tuna-wasabi pizza.

This year, Mexico City, Barcelona, Washington, Boston, and Milan are scheduled to open — although Austin, Aspen, and Dubai have already been put on hold given the uncertain economic times. Vongerichten is confident he's got the tools he needs to succeed — and if he doesn't, he can sell the restaurants and remove his name from all of them.

While the heavy expansion may sound overly ambitious given the economic recession, it's not all that different from what others — like Wolfgang Puck — have done. I question whether the Jean-Georges brand can succeed without becoming diluted. What do you think? Do you see this expansion plan being a success?

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This year has been a momentous one for the Olympics — not just in sports, but in the culinary arena as well. The Bocuse d'Or — considered the Olympics of food and the world's most prestigious award for French cuisine — is scheduled for Jan. 28 and 29, 2009 in Lyon, France. The rigorous selection process, however, gained plenty of attention in 2008.

It all began this Summer, when we caught up with Hung Huynh at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic, and the Top Chef Season 3 winner revealed his wish to be a semifinalist — which he was. In July, the American Bocuse d'Or advisory board, which includes Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller, and Tom Colicchio, selected eight semifinalists to compete for the coveted chance to represent the US. The judges appointed were even more prestigious, with highly respected chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten involved in choosing a winner. On September 26 and 27, the semifinalists faced off in a culinary challenge hosted by Al Roker, Food and Wine editor Dana Cowin, and John Besh at the Epcot Center.

After two full days of competition, Timothy Hollingsworth, a sous chef at The French Laundry, was selected as the US representative. Currently, Hollingsworth is training directly under Keller as he prepares to represent America in next month's championships, where Paul Bocuse, the French founder of the competition, will be on hand to observe and officiate. No American chef has ever won the final competition and the closest one has come to seeing gold was sixth place in 2003. Could Hollingsworth be the first?

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The fifth season of the hit show Top Chef got off to an exciting start. One of the cheftestants was eliminated before the competition officially started and another cut his finger while peeling apples. Jean-Georges guest judged the New York City neighborhood-centric challenge. To discuss the show in more detail — warning there are spoilers — read more

If the thought of Tom Colicchio's "Braised Monkfish with Pork Belly, Leeks and Cabbage" gets you all hot and steamy — and no "braised monkfish" is not a euphemism for anything — then you may be interested in this online auction. The show is called "Photography for Philanthropy" and it features photographs of food from star chefs such as Tom Colicchio, Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, Jean Georges Vongerichten, and Lidia Bastianich. They've all worked with famed photographer Diana DeLucia, who has captured their masterpieces with her lens.

If you'd like to have one these bow-chicka-bow-wow food photos on your wall, all you have to do is bid. The minimum bid is $250, or you could it buy it immediately for $950. Oh and the best part is that the proceeds are going to City Harvest.

Guess who was sharing a bottle with internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten? To find out, read more