Chef enjoys foie gras freedom

This fall, Upper East Side mainstay davidburke & donatella (the flagship restaurant of restaurateur David Burke) had a bit of a foodie metamorphosis. Not only was the restaurant renamed David Burke Townhouse, but it also went through a redesign — complete with a revamping of the dining room and bar, as well as the menu. Although, as this week’s Hot Chef, the French-born executive chef of the restaurant, Sylvain Delpique, says: “Many of David’s signature menu items are still on it.”

What do you love most about your job?
Creating specials and working with a lot of different items. There’s a lot of freedom, and that’s the exciting part.

How has the revamp gone?
Great! It’s a good thing for the restaurant. We have a lot of great things — David and I put our brains together to create new dishes.

What is your favorite thing to prepare?
I’m going to say foie gras. I do a lot of foie gras.

And the best thing on the menu?
I like to play with the $55 prix-fixe. It’s whatever I want. If I get something new, I want to play with it. Recently, David did something on TV with pumpkin ravioli, and I put it on the menu because people called about it. Something comes up, and I just do it.  

David Burke Townhouse
133 E. 61st St.
212-813-2121
DavidBurkeTownhouse.com