Chef Biography
Klaus Udo Nechutnys was born in 1947 in Germany after WW II. At age 7, he had dropped his first name of Klaus and decided he was going to be a chef. At 17, he apprenticed to a teacher in Barbizon, France, where he mastered the fundamentals of French cooking. After his training, in 1965 he spent a year at Maxim’s in Paris, before moving down to Lyon to work under Paul Bocuse in 1966. In 1967, Bocuse arranged for him to work at the Mandarin in Hong Kong where he met his Chinese-American wife, Mei. In 1969 he returned to Lyon and Bocuse for a brief stay, before going back to the Orient to teach at Japan’s foremost culinary school. In 1972, with the assistance of Paul Bocuse, he was sent to Napa Valley to oversee the restaurant at Domaine Chandon, Moet-Hennessey’s new facility. In 1978, he helped with the opening of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
In 1982, Chef Udo and his partner, Edouard Platel, built the Hotel and Restaurant Miramonte in downtown St. Helena, California. The Great Chefs television crew showed up later that year to tape Chef Nechutnys for their PBS television series, Great Chefs of San Francisco.
In 1990, they sold the Miramonte and Chef Udo became the executive chef at Auberge de Soleil. Several years later, he moved over to the Jordan Winery to be their executive chef until his retirement in 2007
Recipes
Salmon in My Style
Serving: 6 Print Salmon in My Style By Great Chefs November 17, 2015 Salmon is very gently cooked by taking it on and off the heat, then served on a salad dressed with hazelnut vinaigrette. Wine sauce dresses the plate. Nechutnys’ method of cooking the salmon would work well any time you intend to use […]
Duck Miramonte
Serving: 4 Print Duck Miramonte By Great Chefs November 17, 2015 Tender duck breast slices are fanned over savory wine sauce enriched with bone marrow. Wilted spinach, enhanced with a whiff of nutmeg, is served as a side dish. There’s one trouble with the sequence of this and many, many other recipes — you trim […]
Figs in Cabernet Sauvignon
Serving: 2 Print Figs in Cabernet Sauvignon By Great Chefs November 17, 2015 Udo Nechutnys always approaches dishes with great creativity. For this delicious dessert, he marinates fresh figs, then uses the marinade as a syrup. The almond ice cream quenelles served with the fruit started out as creme anglaise. The almonds, figs, and Cabernet […]
Egg Snowball
Serving: 4 Print Egg Snowball By Great Chefs November 17, 2015 In this version of floating islands, the egg snowballs are flavored with fresh vanilla, then set swimming in a pool of crème anglaise. The golden caramel syrup drizzled over the snowballs is a nice foil for toasted almond slices and fresh fruit. Poach the […]
Mousse of Poultry Liver
Serving: 8 Print Mousse of Poultry Liver By Great Chefs November 17, 2015 Pretty molds of mousse are dressed with fresh tomato sauce and herbs. The colors are bright, the mousse is silky, and the garnishes are crisp, a wonderful combination of flavors and textures. Ingredients Mousse Onion – 1/2, chopped Chicken Livers – 1 […]