Le Papillon

Le Papillon was established in the spring of 1977 on a bustling street corner in what was to become the heart of Silicon Valley. Owner Mike Mashayekh was driven by a single goal—to create one of the finest restaurants in the Bay Area. The restaurant quickly flourished, building a loyal clientele with a taste for fine dining. With the technology boom of the late seventies, Le Papillon became the favorite restaurant for a new breed of executives from companies like Apple, Intel and Tandem, and as the high-tech industry evolved, so too did the restaurant. Frequent upgrades to the menu and wine list, as well as several remodels, helped Le Papillon set the standard for food, service and atmosphere in the South Bay. Born into a restaurant family, Scott Cooper seemed destined to be a chef from the beginning. Starting as a dishwasher, he moved up to bus boy, prep cook, pantry, line cook and nearly all positions in between on his way to becoming the executive chef of Le Papillon. Along the way, he worked with and learned from the many chefs who worked the kitchens of Le Papillon and its sister restaurant La Foret, where he also worked for eight years.