Bruce LeFavour, Chef/Owner, Rose et LeFavour, Saint Helena, CA

Bruce LeFavour is a master of international cuisines. His restaurant has long been considered the finest French restaurant in the Napa Valley. Recently, he has changed the cuisine to Chinese. The quality is as great as before: the dishes are rooted in classic theory, but all display LeFavour's particular insights and epiphanies. His wine list has some of the best French vintages in the Valley. He is an eclectic, consummate chef of wide-ranging intelligence and curiousity. LeFavour is the thinking man's chef. His cooking is almost cerebral, yet it resonates with intuitive insight and understanding. Everything is of importance to him -- not only the foodstuffs themselves, but the garnishes, the lighting, the napkin arrangements, the floral centerpieces, the pace at which the courses are served. He is a perfectionist, and any meal taken at the restaurant is, by consequence, a perfect culinary experience.