 Beginning as a pastry chef, he worked in various restaurants including Auberge de L'Ill, the cruise liner Mermoz, Domaine de Chateauneuf, and Moulin de Mougins in France, and La Cuisine du Soleil in São Paulo, Brazil.He trained under Paul Haeberlin, Paul Bocuse, and Roger Vergé before coming to San Francisco in 1982 to revitalize the now-defunct Sutter 500.In 1986 he became co-owner and executive chef of the original Fleur de Lys in San Francisco.