His training truly began, however, with his father, the owner of Le Ratelier, a restaurant and club near his home town. Here, Jean Jacques learned the rigors and joys of the kitchen. Once he felt the passion that emanated from cooking, he strapped on his apron and never looked back.

In 1975....at only 15 years of age, the young Jean-Jacques left his hometown for an apprenticeship in Paris, the city of lights. Shooting straight for the top, he took his first position in the esteemed Gaston Le Notre De Paris, as an assistant to the pastry chef. He went on to travel the world, working in such renowned restaurants as Fauchon of Paris, Le Richmonde in Geneva, Le Mirabelle of London, and the Ritz Carlton of Portugal.

In 1985, Jean-Jacques received a phone call that would change his life forever. The Reserve of New York called him and asked him to become a member of their team. Jean-Jacques would later describe this opportunity as an "American dream", as they paid all of his expenses to move to New York City so that he could fill a one year position as the Pastry Chef and Sous Chef de Cuisine. From The Reserve, Jean-Jacques stayed on his NYC 'hotlist" training by moving on to the legendary Le Benardin, where he continued honing his skills as a pastry chef.

Like many city dwellers, Jean-Jacques would escape the constant excitement of NYC by taking trips to the beautiful Hudson Valley. On one of his trips, he happened to stumble upon one of the areas best kept secrets (at the time), Bread Alone....our very own "from scratch" bakery that was making quite a splash in the Catskills area. Jean-Jacques was fascinated with this bakery and immediately struck a repo ire with the owner after describing his respect and admiration for the quality of the product he found there. It wasn't long before Bread Alone offered him a job and brought Jean-Jacques to what he now calls home.

The Hudson Valley brought Jean-Jacques nearly everything he wanted in life, to include a beautiful wife, Jennifer, and a lovely baby boy, Luke. On Valentines day of 1996, he rounded out his life by pouring all of the love and passion he held for cooking, wine, hospitality, and family by opening Le Canard Enchaine with his wife as his business partner and ultimate support structure. Since that day, Le Canard has grown to three times it's original size, received acclaims from the best publications in the industry, and has been dubbed "The Best Restaurant of the Hudson Valley" for several years running. It is not uncommon to encounter people from all over the globe coming to Kingston, NY to experience this little bistro that seems to have lost it's way while looking for a nesting place on the left bank and found itself making a home on the West banks of the Hudson.

"I cook because I love it....it is how my family showed affection to me, and it is how I show appreciation to those whom I have come to love and admire over these many years of being a chef. I want to share the fun of cooking and show people that anyone can do it.