CULINARY DIRECTOR | ERIC LEVEILLeE

Eric Leveillee is the Culinary Director at The DeBruce, where he oversees the culinary program for the award-winning restaurant. The DeBruce’s culinary ethos draws inspiration from three core pillars - the local heritage of the area, the bountiful products grown and crafted from its neighbors, and the rich and bountiful mountain under whose shadow The DeBruce is nestled. These pillars, and an unwavering commitment to culinary excellence has resulted in an unexpected and ambitious restaurant that sits at the heart of this small and quaint hotel  here in the valley of the Willowemoc.

Eric Leveillee began his cooking career with Jennifer Zavala at El Camino Real before moving on to work at Vernick Food & Drink with James Beard Award winner Chef Greg Vernick. He eventually went to run the kitchen at Marigold, as well as at The DeBruce, which during his tenure was a semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. 

Chef Leveillee went on to take a position at the iconic Lacroix at The Rittenhouse Hotel.  While running the kitchen at Lacroix, the restaurant was awarded five stars by Forbes Travel Guide, the hotel was awarded one Michelin Key by the Michelin Guide, the restaurant was named #19 on Philadelphia’s top 50 restaurants, and named as one of the “ten restaurants that defined Philadelphia dining in 2024” by Resy.

Chef Leveillee is excited to be back at The DeBruce to continue the legacy of a restaurant that he helped build. Chef Leveillee, who has dealt with addiction and homelessness in his past, has a strong desire to help people in homeless and food insecure situations, regularly donating meals and his time to various causes in Philadelphia while simultaneously being a strong advocate and supporter of Foster Supply’s own local non-profit, A Single Bite, which tackles food insecurity in Sullivan County.