wine "insight " of the month¨¨¨
¨ For the Current Wine Insight by French connoisseur Bernard Guinand, Click Here
  Who is the French chef and sommelier, who rubs shoulders with the rich and famous,  
  from Bocuse and Jean Banchet to the celebrities of the world?  
     
          Meet Monsieur Bernard, Le Chef, Le Sommelier, Le Connoisseur  
     
  Bernard Guinand was born in France in a town by the river Loire, close to Lyon, the  
  Mecca of culinary art. Did this have to do with his love for food? It very well may have.  
  At the early age of 12, Bernard developed his taste for food. While other kids played  
outdoors, his playground quickly became the kitchens of the local famous hotel, Le Chemin de Fer. There, his  
imagination ran free and his tastes, smells, and cooking skills began to take shape, so much so that he quickly earned  
his CAP.  
   
His cooking turned into an unbreakable passion. He ventured out into the world,  
traveling over summers to the luxurious spa town of Vichy, where he continued to perfect  
his cooking skills at the Queens hotel. When the winter season came around, he would  
travel to yet another well-known town, Meribel les Allues.  
     
Bernard's passion turned into a perfected craft and he was ready to take on
  Paris - the city of romance and discriminating food connoisseurs. He was awarded a post at what was
  then the only hotel on the Champs-Elysses, the Claridge, and later at the well-known Laperouse
  Restaurant on the bank of the River Seine. These restaurants were the last remnants of the formal
  dining era, having huge kitchens with long charcoal burning stoves and brigades of over 30 staff
  members.
 
Having earned a reputation as a top-notch chef-de-partie, he was offered a position in St. Tropez, another hotspot
of the rich and famous! He suddenly found himself working as the sous-chef at Chez Felix, the very exclusive hotel-
restaurant of the Riviera's Tahiti Beach. There, he served and mingled with the world's elite, including Jane Fonda and
Brigitte Bardot.
 
 In 1971, while on a visit to Paris, Bernard met Jovan Trboyevic, the famous Chicago
restaurateur. Jovan offered him a position in the kitchen of his new restaurant in
Chicago's Gold Coast. Bernard jumped at the chance to come to America and live the
American Dream! Life was good; Jovan was doing well and he decided to open a new
French restaurant, Le Perroquet, bringing aboard another professional,
Gabino Sotelino, who later became the fame of Rich Melman's Ambria, now L20.
 
  Soon after, Bernard started thinking about opening his own restaurant, but
      he realized he lacked the overall necessary knowledge
  running a restaurant would require. So, he studied management techniques and taught
  himself, in depth, the intricacies of wines. Then he did what he had to do to to gain
  more knowledge - he made the leap from the kitchen to the dining room!
       
  He began at The President's Restaurant (now Nick's Fishmarket), and then joined
  Marco at Wrigley Restaurant, serving lunches while working at the Lake Point Tower
  Club at nights as a sommelier. Just as he was feeling he was ready to start his own place,
  the phone call came! It was Doris Banchet, from the Le Francais Restaurant; a place where
  stretch limousines with private chauffeurs were bringing and waiting for their affluent
    clients from around the globe to dine with the culinary star Jean Banchet, Doris's husband.
    Doris convinced Bernard to take a position at Le Francais, replacing Carlos Nieto, who
    was leaving to open his own restaurant. Bernard's dream of opening his own restaurant
  vanished, as the reality of working with America's most fabled chef, Jean Banchet, was at the reach of his hand. He
  accepted the position and became a part of Jean's famed team and French culinary history.
         
         
  He continued to cultivate his passion for wine and was instrumental in founding  
  the Chicago Sommelier Association, for which he began writing articles about  
  food and wine. Upon the sale of Le Francais, he followed Gabino Sotelino to Ambria.  
  He was followed by his faithful diners, appreciating his true connoisseur skills in fine  
  dining and wine pairing.  
     
     
  Over the years, I too have had the pleasure to meet and get to know Bernard, as our  
  business trades were connected in many ways. I speak from personal experience  
  when I say his passion and knowledge of the culinary art and wine is second to none. His dossier of praises from
  customers and professionals alike is sublime. Today, Bernard enjoys sharing his culinary and wine knowledge with
  his food lovers by writing about food and wine and by creating memorable personalized wine and food travel packages
  to hsi native France for intimate groups of twenty accompanying them as a a personal guide. It is with great pleasure to
  personally present Bernard Guinand to you and share his artistry with you, our clients. It is my hope that you will
  enjoy Bernard's recommendations and enrich in "savoir de vivre" as I did. Join me to view the current wine insight.
   
  Olga S. Pierce, President
  Concierge Unlimited International
   
  www.conciergeunlimited.com

 

 


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