Jacques Torres

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 cohost on the cooking comedy show Nailed It alongside Nicole Byer In 1980 he began working with twostar 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 schools 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 Citys first chocolate museum named ChocoStory New York The 5000squarefoot museum opened at the site of his flagship store in Manhattan