2023 Chefs
Bethesda, MD
Born in Casablanca and raised in Provence, Patrice Olivon has been cooking for more than forty years. His culinary style is inspired by the cuisines of North Africa and Southern France.
Chef Patrice obtained his culinary degree from L’Ecole Hôtelière de Marseille. He then cooked at the renowned Negresco Hotel in Nice with two-star Michelin winner Chef Jacques Maximin. After relocating to Washington, DC in 1979, Chef Patrice worked throughout the region at a variety of different restaurants, but most poignantly worked as the sous chef at the historic Maison Blanche restaurant.
A fitting transition, he then served simultaneously from 1993 – 2005 as a private chef at the White House and also the Executive Chef of the French Embassy. At the White House Chef Patrice was involved in hundreds of State Dinners, holiday parties and other official functions, but also prepared meals for both the Clinton and Bush families and their most intimate guests in their private quarters. He frequently traveled to Camp David to cook for foreign dignitaries and cooked at the G-7 summits held in both Florida and Colorado.
In 2006, Chef Patrice competed on Food Network’s popular series Iron Chef America with former White House Executive Chef, Walter Scheib. Food Network host, Alton Brown affectionately nicknamed Chef Patrice the “Patrice-O-Matic” for his speed and culinary prowess – skills that helped the White House team win the battle against Iron Chef Cat Cora. (The full episode can be seen on You.tube.com)
He is currently the Program Director of the professional Culinary Arts Program at the award-winning culinary school, L’Academie de Cuisine located just outside Washington, DC.