Gabriel Rucker

Early life and education Gabriel Rucker was raised in Napa, California. He began a two-year culinary program at the college, but ultimately dropped out in favor of working in kitchens.

Career

Rucker worked at various restaurants in California until 2002, at which point he moved to Portland, Oregon, to experience its culinary scene. He worked at Paley's Place and was mentored by Vitaly Paley. He went on to become the head chef at Colleen's Bistro. By 2007, Colleen's Bistro was renamed to Le Pigeon under Rucker's management. He was nominated as Best Northwest Chef in 2012. In 2013, he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Northwest Chef and was a semifinalist for Outstanding Chef in 2025. Rucker released a cookbook in 2013 titled Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird. He also offered cooking lessons and worked as a private chef during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rucker was one of two local chefs who trained actor Nicolas Cage for his role as a Portland chef in the 2021 film Pig. That same year he appeared as a guest judge in the cooking competition show Top Chef. On the show he prepared a pigeon dish, and contestants were tasked with identifying the dish's ingredients in the dark before recreating it. Rucker spoke at a TEDxPortland conference in 2024. He previously struggled with alcoholism but became sober in October 2013. Rucker helped to found the Portland chapter of the nonprofit organization Ben's Friends after he found support in the organization. and the name of Le Pigeon was inspired by a pigeon tattoo of his.