Eric Ziebold is an award-winning American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 chef and restaurateur

Restaurateur

A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...

 behind CityZen

CityZen

CityZen is an American restaurant located in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C. that serves American cuisine from executive chef and owner, Eric Ziebold.-Restaurant:...

 in Washington D.C.

Early years

Ziebold began working in restaurants during his teenage years after school at Café Maude’s with mentor chef Matt Nichols, where he learned to cook in a calm and nurturing environment. Ziebold spent more time though in the restaurant than in class in college at the University of Northern Iowa and decided to switch to the Culinary Institute of America

Culinary Institute of America

The Culinary Institute of America is a non-profit culinary college located in Hyde Park USA, founded in 1946. The CIA also has branch campuses in St. Helena, California, and San Antonio, Texas, as well as a campus in Singapore. It is a not-for-profit academic institution of higher learning...

. After spending some time at Spago and Vidalia, Ziebold joined Thomas Keller's The French Laundry in 1996 where he stayed until shortly after Keller opened Per Se in New York in 2004.

CityZen and Sou'Wester

Upon leaving Per Se in 2004, Ziebold returned to Washington D.C. and opened the critically acclaimed CityZen, which serves Modern American cuisine. Ziebold was named one of the "10 most influential chefs working in America" by Forbes.com in 2007 alongside Dan Barber, Tom Colicchio and Grant Achatz.

In 2009, Ziebold revamped CityZen's sister-restaurant, MoZU in the Mandarin Oriental

Mandarin Oriental

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group , a member of the Jardine Matheson Group, is an international hotel investment and management group with luxury hotels, resorts and residences in Asia, Europe and the Americas...

. He changed the style from Asian-themed to regional American and made it more affordable. The restaurant was then opened in September 2009 under the name Sou'Wester.

Awards

Best New Chefs, Food & Wine, 2005

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic, James Beard Foundation

James Beard Foundation

The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...

, 2008

Chef of the Year, Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, 2008

Cityzen: Top 40 Restaurants in the U.S., GAYOT.com , 2010