Eric Ziebold began his career under two masters of the craft, a foundation that shaped his trajectory for years ahead. The first was Wolfgang Puck at Spago in Beverly Hills. “He was so good at those bright, fresh, just-made flavors and finishing stuff with fresh herbs,” says Ziebold. “It really was one of those kitchens where everything got thrown out at the end of the night, and you started fresh the next day. The food tasted like it was made today, because it was made today.”
The next mentor was Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in Napa Valley. “Thomas was the right person, at the right time, with the right concept,” says Ziebold. “He was classically French trained in California with all those ingredients at a time when America was really growing up from a food and wine standpoint.”
Ziebold came to Washington, D.C. in 1994 to work for another giant in the field, Jeff Buben at Vidalia. At the time, the city felt poised to become a major culinary destination. “The groundwork was there,” he says. “You had Jean-Louis Palladin, the contemporary grandfather of French cuisine. Roberto Donna was doing Italian. And there was the rise of contemporary American provincial cooking, which was led by Jeff Buben and Bob Kinkead.”
The young chef found his own success and helped propel D.C.’s rise at CityZen, where he earned a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award from the James Beard Foundation, a Best New Chef award from Food & Wine, and a Chef of the Year award from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.
In 2016, he and his wife, Célia Laurent (whom he met while they were both working at The French Laundry), opened Métier, a subterranean tasting menu restaurant, and Kinship, the upstairs concept where he blends artful French technique with seasonal American ingredients. Both restaurants hold a Michelin star, further cementing his status as a master of the craft.
