An advocate for sustainable fishing and seafood, Rick Moonen‚s passion for conservation has led him to national acclaim.  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 and Chelsea Central before joining Buzzy O‚Keefe at 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, which would further demonstrate the range of his culinary skills.  Here he created Greek cuisine on another level, and Molyvos was the first Greek restaurant to earn three stars from The New York Times.  

It was after five years that Moonen decided to develop his own highly anticipated 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 as such he 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-leveled restaurant Rick Moonen‚s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.  The lower level of the restaurant offers regional coastal favorites and a bountiful world-class raw bar in a bustling market atmosphere.  The upper level offers a more elegant experience featuring Chef Moonen‚s inventive tasting and à la carte menus, a signature of his craft.  
When not behind the stove, Moonen can be found throughout the country educating about the dangers of over-fishing and ocean conservation. As an industry leader, he has testified several times for environmental and sustainable 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 the Wildlife Conservation Society, Seaweb, and a chef‚s advisory board member of Ecofish.  He also has served as a spokesperson for American caviar, a more environmentally sound alternative to the Caspian Sea varieties, and he is often quoted for his expertise with various indigenous and exotic fish.

Moonen is happiest doing the things that originally brought him to a culinary careerˆcooking, teaching and writing about fish and seafood. His current passion has been the writing of his first cookbook, Fish Without a Doubt. A practical, hands-on guide to buying, preparing and cooking a wide array of fish, Rick‚s focus is on delicious recipes prepared with easily obtainable ingredients. Fish Without a Doubt is scheduled for publication in April 2008 (Houghton-Mifflin).