Before top chefs were considered celebrities and going green was red-hot, there was Rick Moonen. Raised in Queens, New York, Rick didn’t grow up dreaming about the day people would associate his name with perfectly prepared scallops or a succulent sea bass. Like many young kids, he saw himself donning a white lab coat and saving lives. Chemistry sets were explored; toys were taken apart and put back together; and ideas were put in motion, all with the goal of creating something that wasn’t there before. Well, he may have traded in the lab coat for a chef’s coat and matching hat, but one thing is for sure — he was definitely destined to save.

You would never guess by talking to Rick that he would be scared of anything, especially public speaking. But before he became the gregarious and outspoken master chef he is today, getting in front of as little as two people was no picnic. After entering the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Rick confronted his fear head on, graduated first in his class and hasn’t looked back.

Though he’s gone from saucier to celebrity chef, author and TV star with appearances on Oprah and The Today Show, Rick isn’t using his celeb status to conquer the A-list. He’s using it to give a booming voice with an unmistakable accent to an issue that he sleeps, breathes and yes, eats — sustainable seafood.

This isn’t just some good deed Rick picked out of a hat. He has been committed to promoting and protecting healthy foods and heathly oceans for over 20 years, and it shows in everything that bears his name. None of his restaurants nor his cookbook, Fish Without a Doubt, features fish that are overfished or caught in a way harmful to the environment. Passionate doesn’t even begin to describe how Rick feels about the importance of buying, selling and serving seafood that only comes from abundant wild populations or has been caught or farmed in a sustainable manner. At rm seafood he takes chances by refusing to sell favorites like Chilean Sea Bass, Japanese Hamachi, Monkfish and Grouper because of their dwindling populations. Nor will he use farm raised Atlantic Salmon because of the negative impact on wild species, excessive use of pesticides, and the environment. Instead, he uses his stellar sense of taste and flair for flavor to tempt guests and cooking hopefuls to swim outside their seafood comfort zone and find a new favorite. So the next time you’re perusing the dinner menu, think about Rick— try the mackerel!

Rick’s rise to the top
After his graduation from the Culinary Institute of America, Rick apprenticed at L’Hostellerie Bressane in Hillsdale, N.Y. followed by Manhattan’s legendary La Cote Basque as a saucier in 1980. Two years at La Cote Basque were followed by two years at Le Cirque with Alain Sailhac. Rick then became the executive chef at Le Relais, Century Café and Chelsea Central before joining Buzzy O’Keefe at the Water Club in 1988. Six years later he left and became executive chef and partner in Oceana followed by Molyvos. He opened rm seafood in New York before bringing his concept to Mandalay Place in Las Vegas in January 2005. He is now a full-time resident of Sin City.