Jacques Torres (b. 1959)
Birthplace:
Algiers, Algeria
Born:
June 14, 1959
Jacques Torres, also known as "Mr. Chocolate", is a master pastry chef and chocolatier. He is a prominent member of the International Culinary Center community, as Dean of Pastry Arts. He has been featured in various television series, talk show appearances, and award ceremonies. Torres appeared as a judge on Season 4 of Next Great Baker, and is a judge and co-host on the cooking comedy show Nailed It! alongside Nicole Byer. In 1980, he began working with two-star Michelin chef Jacques Maximin at the Hotel Negresco. During that time, Torres also attended culinary school to earn a Master Pastry Chef degree. Next he taught pastry courses at a culinary school in Cannes from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, Torres was the youngest person to ever 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 Company before moving on to Le Cirque, where he worked for 11 years as Executive Pastry Chef. Torres joined the faculty of the International Culinary Center in 1993, and after designing the Classic Pastry Arts Curriculum in 1996, he became the school's Dean of Pastry Arts. In 2000, Torres left Le Cirque to open a chocolate factory and retail shop in Brooklyn, New York. Currently, there are eight Jacques Torres shops, including one chocolate factory in the Brooklyn Army Terminal and an ice cream shop in Grand Central Terminal. In March 2017 Jacques opened New York City's first chocolate museum, named Choco-Story New York. The 5,000-square-foot museum opened at the site of his flagship store in Manhattan.