Beyonce has proven that it is not just her fans that become starstruck by her presence, it’s also Michelin star chefs.
For Chef Daniel Boulud, an internationally renowned chef who has restaurants in New York City, Singapore, Canada and the Middle East, he became starstruck after meeting the popstar after her concert… in her car.
Recalling the memorable moment in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Boulud revealed, ‘Well, once I was very starstruck because Jay-Z was having dinner at Daniel and throughout the middle of the meal I was cooking with [the staff], and he said, “Do you want to say hello to Beyonce?”
‘And I said, “Well, yeah. Why not?” [Jay-Z] said, “Yeah, come with me. She’s outside waiting.”‘
He continued: ‘And I go with him outside. I think she had a Maybach or something, a big Maybach, and I opened the door and Jay-Z was next to me.
‘I opened the door, and Beyonce was lying down.’
Chef Daniel Boulud spoke exclusively with the Daily Mail at L’Alliance Gala at The Plaza hotel in New York City on November 13
The top chef revealed Jay-Z and Beyonce made him starstruck and recalled meeting the pop star in her car as she was waiting for her husband to finish dinner at restaurant Daniel
The top chef, 70, went on to explain that the Texas Hold ‘Em singer was ‘kind of resting’ because the seat was in a ‘lying position.’
‘”Hello Daniel, how are you?”‘ he recalled her saying to him.
The chef noted that she was ‘coming out of a concert’ and believed she had already eaten dinner, so she just wanted to rest.
‘She was waiting for Jay-Z to come out, and he was not ready to go out, so she was kind of resting,’ he shared with the Daily Mail at L’Alliance Gala on November 13.
‘You get really starstruck. I mean, finding Beyonce, lying down and having a moment of peace, that’s special.’
It is unclear when the greeting took place, but as Beyhive fans are aware, the singer last performed in New York City at the end of May for her five-night concert run for Cowboy Carter.
Oother A-list stars who have dined at one of Chef Boulud’s restaurants include Meghan Markle – she was a frequent visitor at Café Boulud in Toronto when she lived there – and the Kardashians, who dine at the private table, the Skybox, inside Michelin star restaurant Daniel.
‘I mean, finding Beyonce, laying down and having a moment of peace, that’s special,’ Chef Boulud told the Daily Mail about meeting the singer (pictured with Jay-Z in December 2024)
Chef Boulud, who helped create the menu for the evening, recalled serving Bradley Cooper ‘a couple of times’ at his restaurant and even partying together in Monte Carlo (pictured with Tatyana Franck, President of L’Alliance)
Cooper posed for a photo with Belgian singer Angèle (center) and his pal Paddy McKillen (second from left), who he presented an award to during the gala
Bradley Cooper, who made a special appearance at the gala on Thursday to present the award to his pal Paddy McKillen (even impressing the attendees with a two-minute speech in French), is also a fan of Boulud’s restaurants.
‘I served him a couple of times. We even partied together in Monte Carlo,’ the chef spilled. ‘We went on the boat. It was for the Formula One Grand Prix one year in Monte Carlo.’
No matter what his bond is with the celebrities, Chef Boulud insisted that stars don’t get special treatment when they visit his restaurants.
‘We pay attention like every other guest on what they wish and how they want their evening to go,’ he revealed. ‘And we are very respectful of their privacy.
‘We don’t put them in the middle of the dining room without having them wishing to be in the middle of the dining room.
‘Usually, my table in the dining room is the corner table in the back, and so they can have that if they want privacy or they have the Skybox at Daniel.’
Cooper impressed attendees with his French speech as he presented the Trophée de L’Alliance to hotelier Paddy McKillen on Thursday
Apart from restaurant Daniel, the French restaurateur owns 11 restaurants in New York City, including Cafe Boulud, which has been a staple in the Big Apple for nearly 30 years, and the new steakhouse that just opened, La Tete d’Or.
Coming early next year, he will also be opening a new brasserie on the Upper West Side called Brasserie Boulud – followed by a new restaurant in Hong Kong in March and London in the summer.
Chef Boulud, along with Chef Francis Mallmann, created the menu for the evening for Gala de L’Alliance New York, an American not-for-profit organization that helps raise funds for the French cultural and educational institution in New York City.
The evening also honored Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle with the Trophée des Arts, featured artist Elizabeth Colomba, and a performance by DJ Julien Granel.
