f you love going out for meals that cost the GDP of a small Third World country, you will delight in the news that famed chef Daniel Boulud is expanding his empire this year. Reaching unchartered territory in Canada and Asia, Boulud is opening new restaurants in Vancouver and Beijing, bringing his total to eight chic dining spots. Anyone who has picked up a food or wine magazine is probably familiar with the chef but the rest of us may be wondering: who is Daniel Boulud? I’m glad you asked.

Boulud was born just outside of Lyon, France and raised on a farm. At the ripe old age of 15, he was a finalist for the Best Culinary Apprentice in France – talk about ignoring the quotidian apathy of adolescence (thank you Smashing Pumpkins). From here, Boulud moved to Vonnas where he was a First Cook in a 3-Michelin-star restaurant. Not too bad for someone who had only turned old enough to drive a car.

Tiring of France, Boulud moved to Copenhagen and became a Sous Chef at the Plaza Hotel, under Roger Vergé. His restaurant was named number one in all of Denmark. After shifting back and forth between Copenhagen and France, Boulud moved to Washington, D.C. and worked as a private chef for European Ambassador Roland de Kergorlay. After this, a move to the Big Apple saw him climb the ranks from Executive Chef to the chef and owner of DANIEL, the restaurant he is most well-known for.

Since then, his success has increased exponentially and his business has grown at the same rate. Boulud now has restaurants in New York (several of them), Las Vegas and Palm Beach. As mentioned, he also has two new restaurants that are opening soon – one in Beijing and the other in Vancouver, which will be replacing the dining institution, Feenie’s.

It seems like Mr. Feenie has a bit of a temper, as he walked off the job in the fall (gutsy) after tensions between him and management reached a boiling point. Owners David and Manjy Sidoo were offered support from the start by Boulud and after negotiations Boulud decided to jump on board. He will be commandeering a total makeover of the menu and will train the new chef de cuisines to ensure that the standards at both Feenie’s (which will be renamed DB Moderne Bistro Vancouver) and Lumiere meet his strict criteria.

Both restaurants will be closing down for renovations and stay shuttered until around June, when foodies will undoubtedly line up and use their connections to get a table here. Anyone from B.C. will effuse that the West Coast is the best coast. With the addition of a Boulud restaurant, the rest of the world may have a harder time arguing with that.