Chef Guy Reuge retires from Mirabelle restaurant in Stony Brook

After 39 years cooking on Long Island, Guy Reuge has hung up his apron at Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern, the Suffolk County restaurant he and his wife, Maria, founded in 1983. The chef, born in Orleans, France, has been a singular figure on Long Island, one of a few Frenchmen to cook here — though one who has embraced his adopted country with an open heart. 

Before they moved to Long Island, Guy distinguished himself in Manhattan kitchens including La Tulipe, Rene Pujol and Le Cygne, while Maria was an editor at Gourmet Magazine. But the couple was looking for a new opportunity — and a larger home in which to raise a family. Maria had an uncle living in Suffolk County and he and a group of investors purchased (for $170,000) and renovated (another $18,000) a burger joint in St. James called The Mason Jar. Mirabelle took its name from a small yellow plum much coveted in Guy’s native Loire Valley.

“When we came here,” he said, “our dream was to have what you see in France — a country auberge that’s ‘worth a detour’ [in the words of the Michelin Guide] where the husband is in the kitchen, the wife is in the dining room.”

The choice of St. James turned out to be an auspicious one. “People were well traveled, many were affiliated with Stony Brook [University]. And," Reuge said, "we got extremely lucky in that one of the country’s biggest hedge funds, Renaissance Technologies, set up in Setauket," which led to regular private parties and catering events.

Mirabelle’s first menu featured two dishes that have never left: Ginger-almond tart and duck "served two ways," though the latter has evolved along with the chef. In its first iteration, the breast was grilled, the leg confited (poached in its own fat) and glazed with honey. It was served in two courses and cost $28 … for two people. Over the years, the duck has been garnished with everything from sauerkraut to corn ragout. On the current menu, the breast and leg share a plate, served with carrot flan, yellow wax beans and apricots.

Customers have changed too, Reuge noted. “They have gotten younger, they don’t want to dine in such an opulent room, they don’t want to get all dressed up.” While craving a low-key vibe, their tastes have only gotten more sophisticated.

On the down side, customers have grown emboldened in their ordering, though, he conceded, “whether it’s a legitimate gluten allergy or they just want something on the side, we have to comply.” It’s not always easy. Reuge will never forget the time he was serving a salad of golden beets with strawberries, roasted pistachio and a dressing made with imported Banyuls vinegar. A customer asked for ranch dressing. “It destroyed me," he said. "But I did it. The customer is our bread and butter.”

Mirabelle has received more accolades than any other Long Island restaurant. And not just from Long Islanders. Reuge is a seven-time semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s best chef and has been invited to cook at the James Beard House eight times. Among French honors, he was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole in 2001, he received La Toque d’Argent in and was named “Chef of the Year” by the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France in 2006.

And Mirabelle has had an unprecedented four reviews in Newsday, all but the first four stars. In the first review in 1984, Mike McGrady gave it 3½, deducting for the baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil and tea made with bags and not loose leaves. In a 1989 review, Peter M. Gianotti wrote that Mirabelle is “the region's best French.”

Mirabelle took the top spot in the first Long Island edition of the Zagat Survey that published in 1991. To mark the publication of the next edition, in 1993, Reuge and two other top scorers, Michael Meehan and Starr Boggs, celebrated by renting a boat for a fishing trip (or was it a photo op?) in Shinnecock Inlet. At the time, Meehan was at Mill River Inn in Oyster Bay; he’s now a restaurant consultant, most recently at Standard Rec in Patchogue. Boggs operated an eponymous Westhampton Beach restaurant from 1985 until he died earlier this year.

Reuge was no fisherman, but he had come to love the waters surrounding Long Island nonetheless. Fish was always key to his farm-to-table vision, even when the farms were growing oysters. “I have always loved Long Island oysters,” he said, singling out favorites Lucky 13s from the Great South Bay and Fisher Island Petites from Long Island Sound. “The oyster is like the grape, it picks up the flavor of wherever it grows.” Nor is his devotion to local seafood limited to animals. “I love that sea salt I get from Amagansett,” he said. “Why should I get fleur de sel from Brittany?”

Reuge applauds the growth of farms on Long Island, often buying produce from Sang Lee in Peconic or KK’s The Farm in Southold. A few mornings a week, he would stop by Pantaleon’s in East Setauket for the tender mixed greens that cradle his warm goat cheese on a crouton with mustard vinaigrette.

In 2008, Mirabelle closed in St. James and moved to much larger quarters at Three Village Inn, a Stony Brook property owned by Lessing's, one of the Island’s biggest hospitality groups.

Originally, the new Mirabelle comprised a more casual “tavern” and a formal “restaurant.” But by 2013 the menus had merged into one that included both foie gras and a burger. Once he settled in Stony Brook, Reuge took on another Lessing’s project: Sandbar opened in Cold Spring Harbor in 2015.

The last three years of his Long Island tenure may well have been the toughest, as the pandemic upended the restaurant industry. Mirabelle had some fun with the challenges: In 2020, a clear plastic igloo was erected on the restaurant's front patio, its interior featuring cushioned chairs, a coffee table, oversized pillows and a shag rug. Parties of up to six could feast in private, sanitized style on a changing menu of tapas. By the following winter, the so-called “Guy-gloo” was joined by two adjoining siblings, the "Noir" and the "Chalet."

Reuge takes pride in having trained chefs who have gone on to distinguish themselves in their own kitchens. “That is probably the most satisfying thing in the world for me,” he said. “I am so thrilled when someone who worked for me takes on a big challenge, becomes a big chef or, even better, an interesting chef.”

Ari Neimenen worked at Mirabelle from 1988 to 1992 and then went on to helm Manhattan kitchens at Firebird and Cafe des Artistes. He is now executive chef at the Crosby Street Hotel in SoHo. Farther afield, Pete Dovaston runs the modern Japanese Maneki Ramen outside of Birmingham, England. Reuge sent Josh Mouzakes to work with Joel Robouchon in Las Vegas; after a stint with Thomas Keller, he now runs ARLO in San Diego. And Kevin Meehan, who worked at Mirabelle in the early 2000s, has received a Michelin star for his Kali in Hollywood.

Reuge’s influence can be felt most palpably in St. James. When Mirabelle opened, he recalled, there was only Da Vinci’s (the continental restaurant that closed four years later), "but now the scene is unbelievable.”  One direct connection: Jonathan Contes and Tate Morris worked together for two years at Mirabelle before opening Mosaic, their all-tasting-menu restaurant down the street.

Reuge bristles at the title “executive chef.” Cooking, not overseeing, is what he loves most. Even at age 70. A week before retiring, he said, “I cleaned 20 lobsters. Everyone else was busy, and there’s no one who is quicker, anyway.”

Lessings will help him keep his hands dirty. While his new position as “senior emeritus chef” will more than halve his hours, it will expand his responsibilities. He’ll continue to oversee Mirabelle and Sandbar, as well as turn his attention to revamping Lessings’ five “Main Street” restaurants such as Library Cafe in Farmingdale and Maxwell’s in Islip. His new home in Virginia puts him in a good position to weigh in on Lessing’s growing empire in Jupiter, Florida.

Mirabelle needs a new commander in chief and that job goes to Fernando Machado, a native of Portugal who has worked alongside Reuge for 14 years. Reuge is also looking forward to new challenges. “In Virginia there are so many restaurants and farms to explore. I want to keep on learning — learning something new every day, that’s what makes life worth living.”