David Bouley had a rewarding career as a well-known chef in the restaurant industry.
After his tragic passing, many fans are curious about the popular chef’s wife, Nicole Bartelme.
Who was David Bouley’s wife, Nicole Bartelme?
Nicole and David Bouley were married for nearly 20 years, having wed in 2006.
56-year-old Nicole was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 17, 1967.
She is an experienced artist who works in photography, interior and set design, sound, and poetry.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Nicole’s experience also includes painting and graphic collage, and she is “most known for her collages, or works on copper, called DōPictures or shōzō-ga images.”
For over 30 years, she has worked at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She was an assistant director from May to August 1995 and has worked as a costume designer since 1994.
She has also worked as a voice-over contributor for Voice123 since 1993.
In 2003, Nicole founded TriBeCa Native, Inc., “a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization designed to raise funds to support institutions which facilitate progressive social change by addressing the underlying conditions of societal and environmental problems, located in lower Manhattan.”
That same year, she founded TriBeCa Chocolate, “a fundraising initiative of TriBeCa Native.”
Nicole founded TriBeCa Native, LLC, in September 2001, which “focuses on varied genres and media, including painting, photography, graphic design, interior design and sound.”
From 1997 to 2001, she served as the director and publisher for TriBeCa Partnership, “a non-profit designed to employ homeless men and wom[e]n through community improvement projects based in Tribeca, lower Manhattan, with the goal of full time jobs and permanent housing.”
In October 2000, Nicole founded The TriBeCa Film Festival in Manhattan, New York City.
From September 2006 to March 2019, she served as the creative director and social media director and also worked in branding and content for Bouley entities, per her LinkedIn.
The accomplished artist worked as the art director and designer for Brushstroke from January 2011 to September 2017.
Nicole also worked as the art director for MTV Networks from 1992 to 1994, and “assisted with costumes and sales” for Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group from 1990 to 1991.
She was a desk assistant for NBC News from 1986 to 1988 and the assistant to the director of the American Craft Museum in 1986.
From May to September 1985, she served as an education program assistant for Asia Society.
Nicole earned her bachelor’s degree in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied from 1986 to 1989.
Who was David Bouley?
David was born in Storrs, Mansfield, Connecticut, on May 27, 1953.
According to The Washington Post, the award-winning chef had dual French and American citizenship, and “trained in kitchens” in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, France, and Switzerland.
He attended Sorbonne University in Paris before working for chefs such as Roger Vergé, Joël Robuchon, Gaston Lenôtre, Paul Bocuse, and Frédy Girardet.
David “learned his craft” in the kitchens of Le Cirque, La Côte Basque, and Le Périgord.
The accomplished chef “was part of a culinary vanguard in the 1980s that created the New American style and turned fine dining into an expressive art form,” per the publication.
David “began cooking traditional French rustic dishes such as braised rabbits and later in life stressed naturopathy with nutrient-dense dishes.”
“His dishes included serving raw yellowfin tuna on a ring-molded mound of baby fennel, nestled in an emulsion decorated with dozens of dots of various herb oils,” the outlet continues.
“He served pineapple and artichokes with skate and added peppermint to lobster consommé. One of his signature dishes was a mushroom flan with cru Beaujolais.”
David “spent much of his career” cooking in Tribeca, Manhattan, beginning with Montrachet when it opened in 1985, according to The Washington Post.
What was his cause of death?
As The Washington Post reported, David passed away at the age of 70 on February 12, 2024, at his Kent, Connecticut home.
He is survived by his wife, Nicole.
According to the publication, his literary agent, Lisa Queen, said he died of a heart attack.
