Charlie Trotter's is regarded as one of the finest restaurants in the world. For 21 years, the restaurant has dedicated itself to excellence in the culinary arts. Charlie Trotter's Restaurant is innovative and progressive in the world of food and wine and has been instrumental in establishing new standards for fine dining worldwide.
Chef Trotter has received awards at the White House from both President Bush and Colin Powell for his work with his Culinary Education Foundation and was named one of only five 'heroes' to be honored by Colin Powell's charity, Americas Promise . In 2005, Chef Trotter was awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for his overall service to the community. For more information on Chef Trotter’s awards and the Culinary Education foundation please refer to those sections of the website.
In addition to his namesake restaurant, Chef Trotter owns and operates Trotter's To Go, a gourmet retail shop in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago and also produces a line of organic based food products (see Gourmet Gift section for more information).
The restaurant is recognized by a variety of prestigious national and international institutions. Among those include its being a member of Traditions & Qualité . This Mobil Five Star, AAA Five Diamond award winning restaurant has won 10 James Beard Foundation awards, including 'Outstanding Restaurant' (2000) and 'Outstanding Chef' (1999). Wine Spectator named the restaurant 'The Best Restaurant in the World for Wine & Food' (1998) and 'America's Best Restaurant' (2000). Wine Enthusiast named it ‘America’s Best Wine Driven Restaurant’ (2006) and it has been voted one of the ‘World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ by Restaurant Magazine since 2004. Chef Trotter is the author of 14 cookbooks, three management books, and is the host of the nationally aired, award winning PBS cooking series, The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter.