30 year-old Jean Michel Chelain had already spent 14 years cooking professionally when he heard about the Bleujacket opening up in Lawrence. Owners Dan Almanza and Chris Hanna lured him to Lawrence from a French restaurant in Vail, Colorado, where Chelain was Executive Chef.
Bleujacket chef, Jean Michel Chelain
A native of Grenoble, in the French Alps, Chelain began pursuing his culinary muse at a tender age. Chelain recalls, "when I was about nine years-old I began baking cakes, in the French school system we had Wednesdays off and all I ever wanted to do on Wednesdays was to bake cakes."
Chelain began his two-year apprenticeship at age sixteen, and at age eighteen he began working in kitchens in Cannes and on the Cote d'Azur before coming to the United States in 1996. Once in the U.S., Chelain went to work in Carmel, California at Stone Pine a 4-star rated Relais Chateau, before moving on to Vail.
When Chelain took on the job of helping Hanna and Almanza open the Bleujacket, he recognized that he was being presented with a rare opportunity in getting to establish a restaurant from the ground up. "I'm very lucky. I might never have gotten to do something like this in my career, let alone to do it so young" says Chelain. "2000 was a big year for me," continues Chelain, who's first child, a daughter was born shortly before he and his wife made the move to Lawrence.
| Sponsoring Restaurants |
| If you'd like to have your restaurant listed here, contact Christine McConkey at 832-7266, or email her at cmcconkey@ljworld.com. |
| If you would like to be profiled as a chef on theMagonline.com, please e-mail Michael Newman. |
Though traditionally trained, and a purist when it comes to how he prepares classic French fare, Chelain describes his cooking as not very traditional at all. His menu supports this claim. Dishes such as grilled yellow fin tuna with mango salsa, served with soy sauce and wasabi, or risotto with saut shrimp and arugula share billing with such traditional dishes as trout almondine and desserts like chocolate mousse.
Chelain augments his set menu, which he plans to update seasonally, with specials such as the Napoleon of grouper with fresh potato chips and deep fried leeks, served with lobster claws and caviar on a saffron and lobster sauce, and desserts like the Chef's Surprise where he can let his creativity and artistry flourish.
Chelain's Napoleon of grouper with fresh potato chips and deep fried leeks, served with lobster claws and caviar on a saffron and lobster sauce
It's important to Chelain to establish a standard and continue to meet it. He says that they can serve between 150 and 180 patrons in an evening. Beyond that and the ability to serve them well suffers and so does their experience. Though Chelain has plans to begin catering as well, there's no rush to do so at the expense of his commitment to providing a quality experience in the restaurant's own dining room.
Chelain has a personal affinity for the apprenticeship method of learning the culinary arts. It served him well, and now he's the master training his own prot's. The kitchen of the Bleaujacket is also the classroom for two apprentices that came to Chelain by way of the culinary program at Jackson Community College.
A 'Chef's Surprise' dessert plate
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.