Daniel Quillec

With brave beginnings as a 14-year-old cook on a fishing boat off of the coast of Brittany, Daniel Quillec has created a forty-year-strong career from little more than hard work and a great personality.

Moving to Paris when still in his teens, Daniel worked in the kitchen for the well-known Chez Maxime for a few years before heading to New York where he joined his sister Marie Therese in opening the successful La Mangeoire. The Quillec family then progressed to Miami in the mid ‘70s, where they opened the wildly popular French Connection, with Daniel moving out of the kitchen and into the dining room to oversee the operations of the family’s fine dining establishment. Then after opening yet another Miami success with the casual Café Europa, Daniel’s nomad instincts carried him to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he stayed for 14 years at his most well-known creation, Chez Daniel.

The beautiful restaurant drew national attention and earned Daniel reverence throughout Charlotte as proprietor of the city’s best restaurant. After making his mark with Chez Daniel, the charming business-savvy family eldest returned to his familial roots by joining his brother Patrick in Kansas City to help build yet another success story. “We all bring something different to the table and I bring the experience,” Daniel says. “I’ve learned over the years that one of the most important things in this industry is saying hello when people walk through the door, checking on them while they dine and wishing them well as they leave. It may seem simple but you cannot run a restaurant without it.”

The always jolly grandfather who loves to spend his spare time playing the French game petanque sums up his wine theory with a characteristic chuckle, saying “French food with no wine is like a marriage with no woman—not a lot of fun.”