Jacky Robert (born 13 September 1950) is an American chef who helped to create fusion cuisine in the 1980s. He is the cofounder, with Martha Castano, of the non-profit OnBoardForKids.Org

Early years

Born in

Granville, Manche Granville (; Norman: ''Graunville'') is a commune in the Manche department and region of Normandy, northwestern France. The chef-lieu of the canton of Granville and seat of the ', it is a seaside resort and health resort of Mont Saint-Michel Ba ...

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 ...

, Robert began to cook at age 15. After apprenticing at Les Gourmets in Granville, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he then worked at Prunier Traktir and at three 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 ...

rated

Maxim's Paris Maxim's is a restaurant in Paris, France, located at No. 3 rue Royale in the 8th . It is known for its Art Nouveau interior decor. In the mid 20th century Maxim's was regarded as the most famous restaurant in the world. History Early history ...

rue Royale Rue Royale (French for "Royal Street") may refer to several streets: *Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium * Rue Royale, Lyon, France *Rue Royale, Paris, France See also *Royal Street, New Orleans Royal Street (french: Rue Royale; es, Calle Real) is a ...

, working with

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian-American chef and restaurateur. Early life and career Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname o ...

. Robert staged at

Moulin de Mougins The Moulin de Mougins is a celebrated restaurant in France, situated in a 16th-century mill (''moulin'') in the inland French Riviera town of Mougins. Founding chef Roger Vergé made the restaurant's name renowned with his novel and light ''Cuisin ...

, Roger Vergé's three star

restaurant and at the

Hotel Negresco The Hotel Negresco is a hotel and site of the restaurant ''Le Chantecler'', located on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France. It was named after Henri Negresco (1868–1920), who had the palatial hotel constructed in 1912 ...

in Nice, France with Jacques Maximin. Robert worked at Olympia Turm in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, Chez Valentino in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, and Auberge de Riquewhir, Paris. Robert then worked at The Dome of the Four Seasons,

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, and Le Cordon Bleu in

Dania, Florida Dania Beach (Dania until 1998) is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 31,723. It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010 census ...

, Chillingsworth in

Brewster, Massachusetts Brewster is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population of Brewster was 10,318 at the 2020 census. Brewster is twinned with the town of Budleigh Salterton in the Un ...

, and in 1976, helped open Maison Robert, with restaurant owner and uncle, Lucien Robert, in Boston's Old City Hall.

Career

After moving to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, Robert worked as executive chef of Ernie's until 1985. He was inducted into the ''Maîtres Cuisiniers de France'' (Master Chefs of French) thanks to mentor Rene Verdon,

White House executive chef The White House executive chef is the individual responsible for managing the kitchens, and for planning and preparing of all menus and meals for the president of the United States and the first family, which includes their private meals, their p ...

during the presidency of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

. In 1985, he became chef-owner of Amelio's and became the recipient of the 1989 ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

'' Grand Award. During his time in San Francisco, Robert was the president of the ''Club Culinaire Français de Californie'' (French Culinary Club of California). Alongside

Alice Waters Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author. In 1971 she opened Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for pioneering Californi ...

Jeremiah Tower Jeremiah Tower (born 1942) is an American celebrity chef who, along with Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, has been credited with pioneering the culinary style known as California cuisine. A food lover from childhood, he had no formal culinary ...

and Mark Miller, Robert was featured in the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series " The Great Chefs of San Francisco." Robert appeared in additional PBS broadcasts with Emmy award-winning chef

Martin Yan Martin Yan (; born 22 December 1948) is a Hong Kong chef and food writer. He has hosted his award-winning PBS-TV cooking show ''Yan Can Cook'' since 1982. Early years and education With ancestral roots in Taishan, Yan was born in Guangzhou, ...

. In 1996, Robert returned to

Maison Robert Maison Robert was a French restaurant in the Old City Hall section of Boston from 1972 until it closed in 2004. Kerry Byrne of the ''Boston Herald'' described it as "the city’s center of sophisticated dining and power lunches … was widely con ...

, in Boston, this time as executive-chef. In 2001, he accepted the position of executive-chef at

Lydia Shire Lydia Shire (born 1948) is a Boston-based chef and restaurateur. Early life and education Born in Connecticut and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, both of her parents were illustrators. Shire began cooking as early as age four alongside her ...

Locke-Ober Locke-Ober (–2012) was the fourth-oldest restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts, after the Union Oyster House (1826), Durgin-Park (1827), and the Jacob Wirth Restaurant (1868). Locke-Ober featured French cuisine and seafood. History The Greek Re ...

Restaurant in Boston. In 2003, Robert moved to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

as culinary director at the Chatham Bars Inn. Since 2004, Robert has been chef/co-owner of

Petit Robert Bistro Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua * Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type *Petit four * Petit Gâteau *P ...

, which has five locations in the greater Boston area. He is responsible for their "culinary vision" and day-to-day operation.

Awards

* 2007 North American recipient of the ''Maîtres Cuisiniers de France'' (Master Chefs of France) ''Toque D'Argent'' (Silver Chef's Hat), awarded by the Maitres-Cuisiniers de France

References

* New York Time

* ''Maitres Cuisiniers de France