George Mendes


George Mendes is the executive chef of Aldea, a Michelin starred restaurant in New York City.

Career

Mendes was raised in Danbury, Connecticut. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1992, and later worked at Bouley under the instruction of chef David Bouley. He subsequently trained under Alain Passard at L'Arpege in Paris.
In 1996, Mendes was recruited by Bouley to become the executive chef of Le Zoo. In 1998, he began working under chef Sandro Gamba at Lespinasse in Washington, D.C. where he learned how to create the restaurant's famed “French luxe cuisine”.