About me

I come from Troyes; the heart of the Champagne region, an area well known for its food and wine.

There were seven children in my family (I was the youngest as well as a twin) and preparing meals was definitely a hand's on group activity. This included Sunday visits to the local farm for fresh milk and cheese, choosing live chickens and rabbits to be killed and consumed in the week to come, planting and taking care of the family vegetable and herb garden, not to mention foraging in the woods for mushrooms, snails and berries for home made jam. My mother's cooking style is pure "cuisine grandmère" so I learned the foundations of French cuisine at a very early age.

None the less, I was interested in pastry long before I was interested in cooking professionally. Pascal Caffet, the world pastry champion for 1995 and Meilleur Ouvrier de France, kindly allowed me to spend a few afternoons in his kitchen watching and learning. When you are 14 or 15, you like anything sweet, so my original interest in pastry was actually self interest! I basically started out as a "gourmand" but, as my curiosity about food developed, I aspired to become a "gourmet" and became fascinated by cooking in general and passionate about classic French gastronomic cuisine in particular.

I decided to go to cooking school and apprenticed in several restaurants in Troyes. I then worked with a number of fine chefs in France before deciding that an international experience was the next logical step to furthering my career. In August of 2003 I became the Chef de Cuisine at DANIEL; a position I occupied until my move to the Savoy. Two years at the Savoy as Executive Chef lead to the Peninsula Tokyo where I became the opening chef of their gastronomic restaurant, Peter.

I believe in the tenets of straightforward French classic cookery, flawlessly executed using only the freshest, highest quality of seasonal ingredients.

Cooking Influences

I am heavily influenced by the different cities, people, and food culture I have experienced.

I worked with Christophe Cussac who was the Chef de Cuisine at the Abbaye de Saint Michel, a two Michelin Star Relais and Chateau. This was my first experience in a "temple to cooking" (as opposed to simply a restaurant) and I credit Chef Cussac with teaching me the essentials of gastronomic cuisine, through rigorous training, while instilling in me the discipline necessary to achieve the highest levels of culinary competence.

Jean Michel Lorain is the Chef / Owner of La Côte Saint Jacques, a three Michelin Star Relais and Chateau property where I spent two years prior to coming to the United States. Chef Lorain's support and encouragement were instrumental to my decision to meet the challenge of moving to New York City.

My start at DANIEL coincided with its 1999 opening at its 65th Street location. At one point I was involved in food styling the dishes to be photographed for Daniel's Dish, Daniel's monthly column in Elle Magazine. Daniel also often chose me to accompany him to special culinary events outside of New York City.

Awards, Honors and Societies

First prize winner
     - "Best apprentice in Champagne 1993"
Television programs
     - 2009 - BBC: Celebrity Masterchef: Guest Judge on panel for finals tastings
     - 2007 - BBC: Masterchef: Guest Chef. Presented challenge to the final 3 contestants
     - 2006 - BBC: Program on Edwardian Dining with Gilles Coren