Success Stories
Andrew Brochu
Graduate: Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta
Degree: Associate of Occupational Studies Degree in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts
Current Position: Executive Chef, Pops for Champagne, Chicago, Illinois
Andrew Brochu, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta has always loved creating dishes. He has been working in restaurants since his days as a busboy, and later line cook, at Atlanta's Up the Creek restaurant. While completing his associates degree at Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta, Andrew ran a personal chef service for a law firm. It was in Chicago, at world-famous Alinea, that Andrew completed his externship, impressing Chef Grant Achatz quickly and earning a promotion to chef de partie. Andrew fell in love with Chicago and Alinea, and stayed on for two and a half years.
In 2007, Andrew went from Alinea to become sous chef for Pops for Champagne in 2007, and became executive chef the next year. Andrews's signature dish is barbecue pork belly, rutabaga puree, cranberry gel and crispy endive. At Pops for Champagne, where the menu is built on the restaurant's extensive champagne selection, Andrew is drawing praise for his contemporary American small plates, which feature a wide variety of pickled ingredients. He is working with the wine director to create exact pairings with the dishes.
Back to Top
Juan Turner
Graduate: June 2006, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta
Current Position: Garde Manger, Chateau Elan, Braselton, Georgia
Juan Turner's first job in the culinary world was line cook at a Harris Teeter grocery store near Virginia Tech University, where he was pursuing a marketing degree. After leaving college, Juan gave up cooking and became a corporate trainer for a number of Fortune 500 companies. But by 2004, the year he enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta, he had decided he wanted a culinary career.
Juan completed his externship at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead, and then spent the next year and a half there working in the Garde Manger and Banquet departments. He was awarded a Cook I position at Chateau Elan in 2007 and was promoted to Garde Manger in 2008, overseeing Versailles breakfast and lunch buffets, and coordinating parties and events with the Banquet Chef.
Back to Top
Javier Vasquez
Graduate: Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta
Current Position: Executive Chef/Partner Roy's, Naples, Florida
Javier Vasquez recalls his favorite childhood meal: his grandmother's tamales, made from scratch and produced by an assembly line of family members. It's the kind of “plain old food” that remains his primary inspiration. “When I see ingredients at the market and they are fresh, I want to try them,” he says. “I will try anything fresh.” Now Executive Chef at the famous Roy's in Naples, Florida, Javier has really made a splash by keeping faith with the beauty of simple, fresh food.
Back to Top