Rick Moonen

Chef Rick Moonen has devoted his career to being the country’s
top culinary advocate for sustainable seafood. A native New
Yorker, Moonen graduated first in his class from the Culinary
Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York in 1978. He
apprenticed at L’Hostellerie Bressane in Hillsdale, New York
where he built both his confidence and experience working side
by side with Chef Jean Morel.

From there, Moonen assumed the position of saucier at
Manhattan’s La Cote Basque. This experience was followed by
two years at Le Cirque working with the legendary Alain
Sailhac. In the ensuing years, Moonen continued his career in
New York, becoming executive chef at some of New York’s most
iconic restaurants, including Le Relais, Century Café, Chelsea
Central and The Water Club.

After six years, Moonen left to become executive chef and
partner at Oceana where he helped garner the restaurant
national recognition and three stars from The New York Times.
His next step was partnering to create Molyvos, a Greek fish
house, further demonstrating the range of his culinary skills.
Here he brought Greek cuisine to another level, and Molyvos
was the first Greek restaurant to earn three stars from The New
York Times.

After five years Moonen decided to develop his own restaurant.
As executive chef and owner of New York City’s rm, Moonen
earned critical acclaim and, once again, received three stars
from The New York Times. In 2005, he was drawn to the rapidly
developing culinary scene in Las Vegas and closed his doors in
New York City to bring his unique flavor and specialties of the
seafood world to the West Coast.

In February 2005, Chef Moonen opened his multi-level
restaurant Rick Moonen’s rm seafood at Mandalay Bay in Las
Vegas. The lower level of the restaurant offers “State of the Art
Sustainable Seafood” and a world-class sushi and raw bar. The
upper level offers a more elegant dining experience featuring
globally inspired cuisine from Chef Moonen’s fun and
whimsical tasting and á la carte menus.

Since opening rm seafood, Chef Moonen has enjoyed national
attention and acclaim. In 2008, Moonen accomplished a
lifelong dream with the publication of his cookbook Fish
Without a Doubt, a practical, hands-on guide to buying,
preparing and cooking a wide array of fish. That same year his
signature Catfish Sloppy Joe was highlighted in Esquire
magazine’s “Sandwich Encyclopedia,” prompting a guest spot
on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he served the talk show
queen this signature dish and it earned the title of “Best
Sandwich in America.” In 2009 he was a guest judge on Bravo’s
Top Chef Las Vegas and later that year was a contestant on Top
Chef Masters. In 2010, Rick was invited back to compete on
Top Chef Masters 2, where he was the runner-up, raising both
national awareness and thousands of dollars for Three Square
Las Vegas.

In June 2013, Chef Moonen transformed rm upstairs into a
steampunk-inspired restaurant and lounge, with décor
reminiscent of industrialism during the 19th century Victorian
era. Combining the alchemy of food and drink, Moonen
showcases his spin on classic comfort food, offering guests a
variety of playful creations in small and large plate portions,
ideal for a shared dining experience. That same year, the
restaurant was awarded Desert Companion’s New Restaurant of
the Year. In 2016, Chef Moonen competed on Bravo’s Recipe for
Deception, where he teamed up with Chef Bryan Voltaggio to
win the competition, raising both awareness and thousands of
dollars for Keep Memory Alive, benefiting the Cleveland Clinic
Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

When not behind the stove, Moonen can be found throughout
the country educating about ocean conservation and the
dangers of over fishing. As an industry leader, he has testified
for environmental and sustainability policy issues in
Washington, DC and New York. He is a founding member of the
Seafood Choices Alliances, which named him “Seafood
Champion” in 2006, as well as an active member of Monterey
Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and Seaweb. In 2010 Moonen
was part of a PBS Series, “Chef’s A Field,” that was honored
with a James Beard Foundation award for his hosted episode in
Alaska about Salmon. During this same year Moonen was also
honored at the International Chefs Conference with The
Community Award presented by StarChefs.com. In 2014,
Moonen partnered as a brand ambassador with True North
Salmon.