Jean-Jacques' Bio

Jean-Jaques was born in the French Alps in the city of Chamoix. From the beginning he was drawn to cooking as he was influenced by his grandmother who for 47 years was a chef in a local hotel.
 
The past 31 years has seen the genius of Jean-Jaques develop under the tutelage of some of the top chefs in Paris. He started his career and training working with his father the owner of Le Ratelier a restaurant and club near his hometown.
 
At the age of 15 he left Chamoix for Paris in search of fame and success.  His creativity was quickly recognized and he started working as assistant pastry chef at the esteemed Gaston Le Notre De Paris. From there he quickly climbed to the top of the gastronomic world working for such renown restaurants as Fauchon in Paris, Le Richmonde in Geneva, Le Mirabelle in London and the renown Ritz Carlton in Portugal.
 
Continuing his climb to success in 1985 he was invited to be part of the cooking team at La Reserve in New York in the esteemed position of Pastry and Sous Chef de Cuisine., this was followed by a move to the world renown Le Bernadin.
 
On his time off he would enjoy the peace and serenity of the beautiful Hudson Valley 100 miles outside of Manhattan. This area enticed him to the point that he left the glitter of Manhattan and the world of top restaurants behind, and after getting to know the area well he finally realized his dream of owning and operating his own restaurant. This gave him the freedom to expand his horizons and create a true culinary French experience in the Hudson Valley.
 
This new restaurant named Le Canard Enchaine was immediately recognized as one of the top French restaurants in New York. It has won accolades from such prestigious publications as The New York Times, Zagat and The Wine Connosieur among many others.
 
The carefully crafted dishes are tasteful to the palate as well as the eyes, and over the years and to date it is a popular stop for lawmakers, politicians and movie stars.
 
In the past two years Jean-Jaques has contributed his experience to the design and management of restaurants. His consultancy resulted in the launching of Café Nouba and the Clinton Hotel both located in South Beach.