User:P.patty/sandbox

Biography
Jacques Torres was born in Algiers and grew up in Bandol, a fishing village in the South of France. When Torres was 15 years old, he began an apprenticeship at a small pastry shop and completed his apprenticeship requirements in two years, graduating first in his class. In 1980, he began working with two-star Michelin chef, Jacques Maximim 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 1983-1986. In 1986, Torres was the youngest person to ever win the Meilliur Ouvrier Patissier de France competition. In 1988, Torres was 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 French Culinary Institute in 1993, and after designing the Classic Pastry Arts Curriculum in 1996, he became the school’s Dean of Pastry Arts.

In 2007, Jacques Torres married chocolatier Hasty Khoei, a former employee. Mrs. Torres owns a chocolate shop, Madame Chocolat, in Beverly Hills, California.