Jacques Torres (born 14 June 1959) is a French

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

and

chocolatier A chocolatier is a person or company who makes confectionery from chocolate. Chocolatiers are distinct from chocolate makers, who create chocolate from cacao beans and other ingredients. Education and training Traditionally, chocolatiers, e ...

based in New York. Torres is a member of the

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by D ...

community as Dean of Pastry Arts, as well as holding pastry demonstrations. He appears on the show ''

Nailed It! ''Nailed It!'' is an American reality television series that premiered on March 9, 2018 on Netflix. The series is a bake-off competition in the style of reality television, where three amateur bakers compete to replicate complicated cakes and conf ...

''.

Biography

Counter display at Jacques Torres Chocolate in DUMBO

Torres was born in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

and grew up in

Bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, lo ...

, a fishing village in the

South of France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

. When Torres was 15 years old, he began an apprenticeship at a small pastry shop and completed his apprenticeship requirements in two years, graduating first in his class. In 1980 he began working with two-star

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

chef Jacques Maximin at the Hotel Negresco. During that time, Torres also attended

culinary school A cooking school is an institution devoted to education in the art and science of cooking and food preparation. There are many different types of cooking schools around the world, some devoted to training professional chefs, others aimed at amate ...

to earn a Master

Pastry Chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

degree. Next, he taught pastry courses at a culinary school in Cannes from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Torres was the youngest person ever to win the Meilleur Ouvrier Pâtissier de France competition. Torres moved to the United States, and in 1988 he served as the Corporate Pastry Chef for the

Ritz Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates the Hotel#Luxury, luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 conference and resort hotels, luxury hotels a ...

Company before moving on to

Le Cirque Le Cirque is a French restaurant that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan for more than forty years. It is currently closed, with its future status unknown. New York City history Le Cirque was establishe ...

, where he worked for 11 years as Executive Pastry Chef. Torres joined the faculty of the

in 1993, and after designing the Classic Pastry Arts Curriculum in 1996, he became the school's

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of Pastry Arts. In 2000, Torres left Le Cirque to open a chocolate factory and retail shop in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Currently, there are eight Jacques Torres shops, including one chocolate factory in the

Brooklyn Army Terminal The Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) is a large warehouse complex in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York City. The site occupies more than between 58th and 63rd Streets west of Second Avenue, on Brooklyn's western shore. The complex was originally u ...

and an ice cream shop in

Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

. In March 2017 Jacques opened New York City's first chocolate museum, named Choco-Story New York. The museum opened at the site of his flagship store in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 2007, Torres married

Hasty Khoei, who formerly worked under Torres in his chocolate factory. Khoei owned a chocolate shop, Madame Chocolat, in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. Their son, Pierre, was born on August 19, 2016. Their daughter, Jacqueline, was born on April 5, 2019. The family currently resides in New York City. Torres appeared as a judge on Season 4 of ''

Next Great Baker ''Next Great Baker'' (also known as ''Cake Boss: Next Great Baker'') is an American television series that airs on TLC, hosted by Buddy Valastro, the star of his own reality series, ''Cake Boss''. The show features contestants participating in ch ...

'', and is a judge and co-host on the cooking comedy show ''

'' alongside

Nicole Byer Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series ''Nailed It!'' (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award n ...

Jacques Torres Chocolate, 66 Water Street, Brooklyn NY

Achievements

Torres' awards include the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

Pastry Chef of the Year,

Meilleur Ouvrier de France ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (shortened to MOF) is a competition for craftsmen held in France every four years. The winning candidates receive a medal. Description The title of ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' is a unique and prestigious award i ...

, the Chefs of America Pastry Chef of the Year, and Chartreuse Pastry Chef of the Year. He is a member of the , and in 2003 the James Beard Foundation inducted him into the ''Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America''. Torres is the author of two Dessert Circus books, and the host of the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

TV show '' Chocolate with Jacques Torres''. In 2004 he opened his chocolate factory and second retail location in Manhattan, Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven. On May 13, 2010, Torres, along with culinary chefs from the

French Culinary Institute The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by D ...

(now known as The International Culinary Center),

Jacques Pepin Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

Alain Sailhac Alain Pierre Sailhac (7 January 1936 – 1 December 2022) was a French internationally recognized chef working in New York City, where he held the position of executive vice president and dean emeritus at The International Culinary Center, founded ...

and

André Soltner André Soltner (born 1932 in Alsace, France) is an internationally recognized French chef and author working in the United States. He may be one of America's first superstar chefs. Background Soltner started his career at the age of 15 at the ...

, prepared a $30,000-per-couple dinner for U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's fund-raiser for the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

at Manhattan's St. Regis Hotel.

Chocolate with Jacques Torres

Chocolate with Jacques Torres is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n television

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Ty ...

hosted by Jacques Torres. It premiered in on the

in 2002. The show was taped in the United States and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, occasionally in Torres' home region of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. Its primary focus is on extravagant chocolate-based desserts, including chocolate sculptures, centerpieces, and other edible artwork. Torres often describes techniques viewers can use to make their own at home.

References

External links

Interview with Torres

Mr. Chocolate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Jacques Living people French chefs Pastry chefs 1959 births James Beard Foundation Award winners Pieds-Noirs