Debra Ponzek

Debra Ponzek graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1984. After cooking in top New Jersey restaurants, she was hired as sous chef at the then fledgling Montrachet. Ten months later, Deb was promoted to Chef, a position she held for seven years and where she earned three consecutive three-star reviews from the New York Times. At the age of 28, she was selected one of the “Ten Best New American Chefs” by Food & Wine magazine. In 1990, Debra was named “Chef of the Year” by the Chefs of America Association, and a year later was the recipient of the coveted “Rising Chef of the Year” award by the James Beard Foundation. Debra left Montrachet in June 1994 to open Aux Délices, a gourmet prepared food shop, café and catering business in Greenwich, Connecticut. She and her husband have four retail shops located in Greenwich, Riverside, Westport and Darien, Connecticut . Debra has also written four cooks books; French Food American Accent, The Summer House Cookbook, The Family Kitchen, and The Dinnertime Survival Cookbook.