Le Papillon

Le Papillon is a French restaurant located in San Jose, California.Le Papillon is located on a busy street corner between a hotel and a strip mall. Although the surrounding area is prosaic, the restaurant is "elegant (and expensive)". Customers are pampered by "many people in suits". Le Papillon specializes in contemporary French cuisine.Owner Mike Mashayekh opened Le Papillon in 1977 in a remodeled coffee shop at its current location. Mashayekh is also co-owner of the La Foret restaurant (another French restaurant in San Jose) with John Davoudi. Mashayekh and Davoudi were friends before they immigrated to the United States. They had been in the Iranian Army together before the overthrow of the Shah.Before moving to San Jose, Mashayekh had lived in Santa Maria, California where he met and married the mother of Scott Cooper (Le Papillon's Executive Chef). Cooper was a young boy at the time. The family moved to San Jose so that Mashayekh could attend San Jose State University.StaffExecutive Chef Scott Cooper was born in Santa Maria, California and was 12 years old when his stepfather Mike Mashayekh opened Le Papillon. Cooper attended Leland High School in San Jose. Cooper joined Le Papillon's staff in 1992. He started as a dishwasher, and moved up to bus boy, prep cook, pantry, line cook, and many other positions, before becoming the Executive Chef. He also cooked for eight years at La Foret, the sister restaurant of Le Papillon. Cooper's wife is a niece of Mashayekh's partner John Davoudi. Cooper is an avid exerciser who runs and mountain bikes.