Gabriel Rucker

Losing your mind with Chris Cosentino

Follow him: @ruckergabriel

I was fortunate to meet Gabriel many years ago at a game cooking competition which by the way he won. We have been friends ever since, having cooked together at many different events I have seen such amazing food from Gabriel. His intensity and excitement for great food and incredible flavors has taken the world by storm, ever since he opened Le Pigeon it’s been gang busters. I always love sitting there on the counter watching the cooks make incredible food in such a small environment with so much technique & flavor, all guided by Gabriel. Today we talk about alot of the hard stuff and the great stuff, such a great conversation about life and how we decide to change the course of it. Congratulations on making this amazing change and being able to share it with so many.

Gabriel Rucker
Executive Chef and Co-Owner, Le Pigeon and Canard

Two-time James Beard Award winning​ Chef Gabriel Rucker is Executive Chef and Co-owner of ​Le Pigeon​ and ​Canard​ in Portland, Oregon. His edgy, highly original, and recipe-free masterpieces, evocative of French bistro signatures and classic American fare, have gained him both regional and national acclaim. When school no longer piqued his interest, Rucker moved to the kitchen where his natural talent took flight. In 2003 he landed a coveted job at Paley’s Place and, after two years in the esteemed kitchen, he moved on to the Gotham Tavern as Sous Chef. In June of 2006, Rucker opened Le Pigeon and became an overnight success. In 2018, Rucker and Fortgang opened Canard next door to Le Pigeon, an all-day cafe serving breakfast, lunch and brunch on the weekends, and in the evenings, serving up a broad wine program and wild French bar food. Canard quickly became one of the most buzzed about openings nationwide, going on to win ​The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year​, Portland Monthly’s ​Restaurant of the Year​, a Best New Restaurant James Beard Award nomination, one of the ​18 Best New Restaurants of 2018 by Eater​, one of ​Thrillist’s Hottest New Restaurant​s and ​Food & Wine names Canard’s Steamburger one of their best bites of 2019​.

Rucker ​and his team released their first cookbook, ​Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird (Ten Speed Press), in September 2013. Forwarded by Chef Tom Colicchio, the cookbook is a serious yet playful collection of 150 recipes celebrating Rucker's high-low extremes in cooking, combining the wild and the refined in a unique and progressive style, receiving national acclaim from media and chefs alike, including ​Andrew Zimmern’s Top Cookbooks of 2013​, ​Food Republic’s Top 20 Cookbooks​, one of Financial Times’ Books of the Year​, ​Food Network Favorite Fall Books​, and praised in UK Independent​, ​Wall Street Journal​, ​Eater​, and ​The Week​. It was also a finalist for the 2014 IACP Cookbook award​.

Rucker is one of Portland’s most respected and decorated chefs, ​earning many accolades, including ​two James Beard Awards​ for Rising Star Chef in 2011 and Best Chef Northwest in 2013, as well as a nomination for Outstanding Chef 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He was named a ​Food & Wine Best New Chef 2007​, one of ​Portland Monthly’s Chefs of the Year​, and was the recipient of StarChefs Mentor Award in 2018. Le Pigeon and Canard have become some of Portland’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, earning many accolades, including ​The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year in 2008 for Le Pigeon​ and 2​ 018 for Canard​. The restaurants have been featured in Travel + Leisure​, ​The Guardian​, ​Details Magazine​, ​Wall Street Journal​, ​Wine Spectator​, San Francisco Chronicle​,​ ​GQ​, ​USA Today, ​NBC New York​, Bizarre Foods with Andrew

Zimmern and Zimmern’s List. Le Pigeon has been included in Wine Enthusiast’s 100 Best American Wine Restaurants in ​2015​, ​2016​, ​2017​, ​2018​, and in 2019 was named to the Wine Enthusiast ​Restaurant Hall of Fame list​. In 2018, his newest restaurant Canard was named one of the ​18 Best New Restaurants of 2018 by Eater​, one of ​Thrillist’s Hottest New Restaurants​, ​The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year​ and Portland Monthly’s ​Restaurant of the Year​. In 2019, Canard was named one of ​America’s 100 Best Wine Restaurants​ by Wine Enthusiast and was nominated for Best New Restaurant by the James Beard Awards.

In 2019, Rucker, along with fellow Portland chef Gregory Gourdet, founded the Portland chapter of Ben’s Friends, a restaurant industry recovery group. Follow Rucker on Instagram @ruckergabriel and @fitchefpdx.