Michelin-starred Chef Alain Verzeroli has a distinguished history working in some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants, and joined Invest Hospitality as Culinary Director in June 2018. Verzeroli created and oversees the concepts for Le Jardinier and Shun restaurants designed by award-winning French architect Joseph Dirand. The restaurants are situated in 100 East 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, the luxury development by Aby Rosen and designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster.
Verzeroli’s stellar career has included leadership positions at Michelin three-star restaurants across Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo. He most recently served as Director of Culinary Operations at Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Tokyo, where his guidance led to the annual receipt of three Michelin stars for eleven consecutive years. Prior to working with Robuchon for 21 years, Verzeroli was the Executive Sous Chef at the esteemed three Michelin star Arpège with chef Alain Passard in Paris. He also trained at the famed three Michelin star Taillevent and three Michelin star Guy Savoy in Paris.
Verzeroli was born in Vietnam and grew up in Paris. His culinary story began during his freshman year at Universite Paris-Dauphine studying economics. After his first dining experience at Michelin-starred Alain Rayé restaurant, Verzeroli was inspired to approach the renowned chef and asked to apprentice for him. Following a successful month-long apprenticeship with chef Rayé, he decided to change directions and pursue his passion which prompted him to drop out of business school. Verzeroli attended the acclaimed École Grégoire-Ferrandi’s École Supérieure de Cuisine Française (ESCF) in Paris, France.
Chef Verzeroli moved to New York after 18 years in Japan and resides in Midtown Manhattan with his wife.
Andrew was born and raised in San Francisco. He was introduced to the world of food and cooking from a very young age by his mother, who worked as a butcher for over 35 years. Today she remains his main inspiration along with his trips to England and Taiwan. While attending high school, he began cooking at a small local restaurant. After enrolling Audio Engineering School in Emeryville, California, Andrew quickly realized that this was not his passion and decided to join Le Cordon Bleu California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Andrew went on to work at 5 Star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in the Bay Area including the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Chez TJ in Mountain View and Campton Place in San Francisco where he met and worked with Chef, friend and mentor Srijith Gopinathan. In 2013, Andrew decided to move to New York to further develop his career. There, he first joined the team at Restaurant DANIEL and then Per Se restaurant. Andrew joined The Bastion Collection in 2017 as part of the opening team for L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and Le Grill as Executive Sous Chef. In 2019, he was promoted to Chef de Cuisine of Le Jardinier New York where we gained one Michelin star 5 months only after opening. Besides New York, Andrew also supports the development of Le Jardinier in Miami and Houston alongside Chef Alain Verzeroli.