Nora Pouillon
Chef, Owner, Consultant
Asia Nora and Nora Resturants
Washington, D.C
Enjoyed for years by presidents, senators, congressmen and Washington personalities, Nora Pouillon’s non-partisan cooking combines health and elegance in light, balanced and innovative ways. "Dining healthfully is also about balance and making wise choices, be it in a restaurant or at home".
Nora is the chef/owner of two of Washington, D.C.’s most popular restaurants. The multi-ethnic, organic Restaurant Nora opened in 1979, and it has been praised for its high quality and healthy approach to eating, in publications like USA Today, Gourmet, Vogue and The Wall Street Journal. Nora’s second organic restaurant, Asia Nora, showcases Nora’s unique and artful interpretation of dishes from all across Asia. According to Phyllis Richman of The Washington Post, "the custom-made mahogany tables are so soft they feel velvety. On one side they have two very understated narrow strips of lighter, inlaid wood. They’re set with rosewood chopsticks, a small stone as a chopstick rest, and pottery designed especially for the restaurant. This is the most serene restaurant."
Fitness Magazine recently honored Nora as one of America’s healthiest chefs and her unique, organic lifestyle was the topic of a feature article in Japan’s top food and living magazine. Her commitment to healthy eating extends beyond the kitchen of her two restaurants. She has been a consultant to Fresh Fields’ chain of natural food stores, where she developed a repertoire of flavorful low-fat dishes for the prepared foods counter. As a founding board member of Chefs Collaborative 2000, Nora advocates increasing the quality and nutritional value of the food supply by promoting environmentally sustainable living. One of her most rewarding activities has been her work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve the equality and flavor of public school cafeteria lunches while lowering the fat and sodium content of the food our children eat.
Nora attributes her commitment to healthy dining to her parents who believed in eating simply prepared meals made with top-quality seasonal ingredients. Her philosophy on food is as simple as it is true: "When food tastes good, and is high in nutritional value, you don’t need to eat as much to feel satisfied".
Nora’s note: Arborio rice is a starchy, short grain rice that comes from the Po river valley in northern Italy and is traditionally used to make risotto. This creamy rice dessert comes from India where it is called kheer. This is an example of cross-cultural cooking.
ASIA NORA restaurant is located in downtown Washington, D.C. at 2213 M Street, NW.
The phone number is (202) 797-4860.
NORA restaurant is located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., at 2132 Florida Avenue, NW. The phone number is (202) 462-5143.
NORA POUILLON is also the author of Cooking With Nora (Park Lane Press), a collection of her most popular recipes using her trademark fresh and organic ingredients, simple preparation methods, wine suggestions, nutritional information, and helpful "Nora’s Notes". Beautiful photographs accompany each of the recipes created especially for the home kitchen.
Cooking With Nora was a finalist for the 1996 Julia Child Cookbook Awards, "First Book" Category.
