so that he could express his culinary creativity as the chef/owner while enjoying the Pacific Northwest. Rautureau says of his cooking philosophy: “it starts with freshness and continues with treating all ingredients with attention.” He identified the cuisine at Rover's as “Northwest contemporary with a French accent.” His cuisine also contained Mediterranean overtones and various Asian elements. Overall his cuisine is aligned with the philosophy of "food as art". Rover's closed its doors on June 23, 2013 as Rautureau prepared for "new opportunities". Luc In 2010, Rautureau opened Luc, a casual French-American café and bar named after his late father, Luc Rautureau. Being primarily local, seasonal and sustainable, Luc's food is heavily influenced by the French comfort food Rautureau grew up eating on his parents’ farm. In order to raise money to open Luc, the established chef pre-sold gift certificates. Interested parties were offered three gift certificates valued at $435, which could be used over the course of three years for $1,000. The names of these "Founding Diners" are now featured in Luc on bronze plaques. The two paintings in the dining room were both artistic interpretations of old Rautureau family photographs, one of Rautureau as a boy and another of his parents as a young couple, which were rendered by a Seattle-based French artist named Isa Darleans. Luc closed on August 28, 2021, following struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic and what Rautureau described as a "financially unsustainable lease". Loulay After closing Rover's in 2013, Chef Thierry Rautureau opened Loulay Kitchen & Bar in downtown Seattle, at the bottom of the Sheraton Hotel. Named for Chef Thierry Rautureau's hometown of Saint Hilaire de Loulay in France, Loulay served home-style French cuisine influenced by Pacific Northwest ingredients. The restaurant was dubbed "Best Restaurant of the year" by Seattle Met Magazine; Thrillist gave it accolades as one of "The 21 best new restaurants in America", and "Seattle's 11 best new restaurants of 2014",; its burger was dubbed "Seattle's 10 best new burgers of 2014", Loulay closed in March of 2020, following the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle, and never reopened. Rautureau made the closure permanent in August 2021. Awards and recognition Since Rautureau opened Rover's in 1987, both the chef and his restaurants have received local and national recognition from both press and industry critics. The James Beard Foundation nominated him as one of the "Best Chefs in America" in