Meet the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Team in New York City

Want to meet the new team in charge of Joël Robuchon’s new team at the L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in New York City? Both his new chef and general manager were training in Las Vegas at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand for the past week.

First up, Christophe Bellanca, who was the executive chef for L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in the Four Seasons Hotel in New York. He joined the team in 2012 and worked in the kitchen at the MGM Grand last week. Bellanca replaced Xavier Boyer, who returned to France for personal reasons. Bellanca had worked at Pic in Valence, France, and then was at L’Orangerie in Hollywood before coming to New York to be the executive chef at Le Cirque. He also worked at Aureole in New York City.

Patrick Gioannini takes over as general manager. The vice president of hospitality at Invest Hospitality, the company behind bringing Robuchon to New York and other locations, was the director of food and beverage at Mandarin Oriental in New York for 11 years. Before that, Gioannini was the general manager of Jean Georges Restaurant at the Trump Hotel and Osteria del Circo. He also worked as the restaurant director of the New York Palace Hotel and at Alain Ducasse’s restaurant at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon plans to occupy 11,000 square feet in Battery Park, taking on the look of Robuchon’s London location. The space plans to feature several firsts, including a bar and lounge, and an outdoor area for drinks and small plates.

L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the MGM Grand earned a spot on the first-ever Eater 38 from Eater National and has a practically permanent home on the Eater Vegas list.