Odessa Piper was born in Pearl City, Territory of Hawaii, grew up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and developed an interest in food when she worked at a farm in Canaan, New Hampshire, which was led by a group that was interested in sustainable agriculture.
[3] L'Etoile is part of a late 20th-century movement among some restaurants to create local cuisine using only regional food ingredients.
(Other such restaurants include Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California and Sinclair and Frederique Philip's Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.)
In 2001 Piper won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest and L'Etoile was #14 on Gourmet's list of America's 50 Best Restaurants.
[6] Odessa Piper is married to the international wine importer, Terry Theise and lives in Roslindale, Boston.