RICHMOND, Va. — When 14-year-old Bertrand Chemel walked into the bakery near his grandmother’s home in France, his life changed forever.
“I went and asked the baker if I couldn’t get a summer job and they gave me a summer job,” Chemel said. “After one summer there, I fell in love with the industry.”
Summers at the bakery turned into a more formal kitchen education at culinary school in France.
With a degree in hand and military service behind him, Chemel landed at one the finest restaurants in France — Michel Gaudin’s restaurant in the Alps.
“We were only three in the kitchen, so it was really one-on-one with the chef,” Chemel said. “He didn’t give me a break. Every time we had some break, he was in the back of the kitchen saying, ‘If you have nothing to do, go into the back and pick a book.’ The idea was to introduce me to different cuisines.”
Sion ParsamianAfter a few years, Gaudin kicked Chemel out of his kitchen to get the young chef to spread his wings.