On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad will honor White Lake’s The Root restaurant’s owner Ed Mamou and Executive Chef James Rigato for creating an exceptional restaurant and bar with a fine dining experience. The Root has garnered special recognitions including the 2012 Detroit Free Press Restaurant of the Year, the 2013 nominee for Food & Wine’s People Best New Chef in the Great Lakes Region of which Chef James Rigato was one of ten nominees. He was the only nominee from Michigan to be listed in the “Best Chef’s America” Reference Book for 2013.
Executive Chef James Rigato
Executive Chef James Rigato was featured in the 2013 Hour Detroit’s Best Chef “Best of” issue and the restaurant was listed in the 2013 Midwest Living “The IT List.” The Root received national exposure on the second episode of the 2013 first season of the Cooking Channel’s series “America’s Best Bites.”
“The Root restaurant is a great addition to the extraordinary mix of dining in Oakland County, Ed Mamou and his staff should be very proud. It is wonderful to have talented Executive Chef James Rigato in our area. The Root is another example of a White Lake small business doing well in Oakland County,” stated Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad.
Proclamations will be presented by Oakland County Commissioner Jim Runestad to Ed Mamou on behalf of the Root Restaurant and Executive Chef James Rigato, in the Oakland County Board of Commissioners’ Auditorium, located at 1200 North Telegraph Road in Pontiac, Michigan. The meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.
About Sarah Hovis