L'Etoile is a fine dining restaurant established in 1976 by Chef Odessa Piper. Our seasonal menus are inspired by the Midwest region and are rendered with a French influence.
"Her passion and innovation are spreading her fame beyond Madison (look for her books coming soon) and she's won a number of cooking awards... Why so many awards? She's been at the forefront of American restaurant trends for the last three decades." — Dara Moskowitz, Odessa: Madison's First Lady of Flavor, Midwest Living, March/April 2005.
Odessa Piper
L'Etoile's founder, Odessa Piper grew up on the New England Coast in a large family with many cooking and foraging traditions. Her education continued after high school as she farmed in Canaan, NH, with a small group dedicated to sustainable agriculture. In 1969, Odessa moved to Madison, WI, where she helped her mentor JoAnna Guthrie open a restaurant called the Ovens of Brittany. JoAnna also operated a farm that featured organic produce grown in Wisconsin's Kickapoo River Valley. In her travel between farm and restaurant, Odessa discovered the area's native hickory nuts, morels and wild plums. Her excitement with the exceptional quality and diversity of the region's foods inspired her to create menus ever more reliant on season and locality. This was the impetus to open her own restaurant in 1976, which she named L'Etoile, referring both to nature's edible stars and the French culinary "mother tongue" of her Midwestern interpretations.
Odessa Piper
Odessa's regionally-reliant cuisine has advanced her menu ideas to a White House State Dinner and profiles in a variety of media, including Gourmet, Sierra Magazine, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Wine Spectator, New York Times, Wisconsin Trails, Wisconsin State Journal, Wisconsin Public Radio, National Public Radio and National Public Television. Odessa is currently a guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, chairs the scholarship committee of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, and serves on the Board of Friends of Dane County Farmers' Market. She is also a member of Slow Food, Chefs Collaborative, IACP and the International Women's Forum. Odessa is the 2001 recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef - Midwest.
Now that Tory and Traci Miller have taken over the stewardship of L'Etoile, Odessa divides her time between writing, consulting and public speaking, and frequently accompanies her husband, wine importer Terry Thiese, on his travels through France, Germany and Austria. Odessa will start compiling recipes for publication from her years at L'Etoile and the philosophy that inspires them. Odessa is also developing an educational model to integrate the curriculums of sustainable farming and regionally-reliant cooking.
Odessa's Writing Office: 301-587-8197 Silver Spring, Maryland
Email Odessa at odessa@execpc.com
Literary Agent: Angela Miller, Angela Miller Agency 212-206-0913, angela@milleragency.net