Lee Hanson & Riad Nasr

Chef/Partners, Frenchette, Frenchette Bakery, Le Rock, Le Veau d’Or, Wild Cherry

For over 30 years, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson have worked together in many of Manhattan’s most storied restaurant kitchens. A native of Montreal, Nasr worked with Michel Bras in France before moving to New York City to help open Restaurant Daniel in 1993. A vet of restaurant kitchens since the age of 14, Hanson joined Daniel Boulud at Le Cirque in the Mayflower Hotel out of culinary school, before cooking with Charlie Palmer at Aureole and Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Vong. It was as fellow sous chefs at Restaurant Daniel that the two found their culinary (and hockey) soulmates in one another. The pair were then tapped by restaurateur Keith McNally to open Balthazar in 1997 as co-executive chefs. This was followed by McNally’s subsequent projects Pastis, Schiller’s Liquor Bar, and Minetta Tavern, where they received three stars from The New York Times and a Michelin star. 

In 2018, Hanson and Nasr realized their long-held dream to open their own restaurant together. With Tribeca’s Frenchette, they combined their love of well-executed classic French food and expert service with a relaxed downtown energy. The restaurant won the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant (2019), received a three star review in The New York Times and was named a Best New Restaurant by Food & Wine. Following its success, the duo brought their updated take on French classics uptown with Le Rock, opened in an iconic Art Deco dining room in 2022 to anchor the renaissance of Rockefeller Center. In 2024, the pair reopened Le Veau d’Or, the oldest French bistro in New York City, to immediate acclaim. The rebirth of the storied restaurant was heralded for the team’s ability to preserve the timelessness and energy of the original in its heyday. With Frenchette Bakery, the team has brought their recognizable French sensibility, emphasis on attention to detail and understated style to two casual bakery and cafe locations. Outposts at the downtown Whitney and in Tribeca’s Merchant Square building showcase an acclaimed bread and pastry program considered among the city’s best. In the fall of 2025, the duo opened their newest restaurant, Wild Cherry, inside the historic Cherry Lane Theater, the city’s oldest off-Broadway theater. 

Both Le Rock and Le Veau D’Or were named a New York Times Critic’s Pick in a three star review and each to Esquire’s Best New Restaurant List, in 2022 and 2024 respectively. Each restaurant has been named to The New York Times “100 Best Restaurants in New York City” list since the list’s inception in 2023. In 2025, Conde Nast Traveler named Le Veau d’Or to their Hot List of the Best New Restaurants in the World. Most recently, Le Veau D’Or was also named #10 on S. Pellegrino’s list of the 50 Best Restaurants of North America. Also in 2025, Riad and Lee together received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, one of the industry’s highest honors. 

Social Handles: @leehanson66, @riadnasr, @frenchettenyc, @lerocknyc @frenchettebakery, leveaudor