Seattle Culture

The Chef in the Hat’s Latest Project? Perfume

The Chef in the Hat adds the role of perfumer to his résumé

By Andrew Hoge November 14, 2018

FullSetWhiskFig

This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of Seattle Magazine.

This article appears in print in the November 2018 issue. Click here to subscribe.

You might expect to find an award-winning chef experimenting with new ingredients, but Thierry Rautureau, chef and owner of Loulay and Luc, is applying his skills to a new medium: custom fragrances. In July, he launched his new line, Chef in the Hat (the nickname he earned while running his renowned French restaurant Rover’s for decades), which he created with French-trained, Seattle-based perfumer Molly Ray.

His debut unisex fragrance, Loulay, which is sold as a room diffuser, hand soap and eau de toilette (from $38), features a base of fig and green tea with delectable top notes of lime and bergamot—scents he has been drawn to in his decades as a seasoned sensory showman. “Scent is a natural part of my world,” the chef explains. “If you pinch your nose, you won’t taste a thing…in many ways, designing this line is similar to creating a good dish.”

Follow Us

Fave Five: Flowers, Art, Style, Beauty

Fave Five: Flowers, Art, Style, Beauty

Celebrate renewal, rain or shine

It's spring, and although typical Seattle drizzle suggests otherwise, you don’t have to wait for a break in the wet and gray to get excited about the change of season. Here are five ways to get out and feel spring even if you still need an umbrella.

How to Talk to Your Doc

How to Talk to Your Doc

Sharing what I learned from an unexpected diagnosis

When I was hit with a frightening diagnosis several years ago, the first thing I did in my doctor’s office was try to read the room...

Proliance Surgeons Expands in Downtown Seattle with Launch of Proliance Surgeons First Hill Orthopedics |Sponsored

Proliance Surgeons Expands in Downtown Seattle with Launch of Proliance Surgeons First Hill Orthopedics |Sponsored

Proliance launches ‘unique’ First Hill Orthopedics in downtown Seattle

Proliance Surgeons, a leading group of independent, physician-led care centers, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its latest care center, Proliance Surgeons First Hill Orthopedics, located in the heart of downtown Seattle. This new facility furthers Proliance Surgeons’ commitment to delivering excellent orthopedic care and personalized treatment to the residents of Washington state….

Clarity: Becoming a Beginner

Clarity: Becoming a Beginner

Change is inevitable. Let’s embrace it.

So, I shut up for the next minute or maybe even two. I stopped listening to what was being said and let my eyes wander around the studio before I began staring distantly at a spot on the wall above the window that looked out into the newsroom. I was like a pinball machine that