Culinary Team
Paul Carter.
Executive Chef
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A native of London, he attended Colchester Institute of Culinary Arts in Essex at the age of 15. Upon earning a three-year culinary degree, he began his cooking career at the Hotel SonnenhĂĽgel in Bad Kissingen, Germany, where he held the title of Commis de Cuisine. He later served in the same capacity at Chateau de Montreuil in France for three years. After rising through the ranks in the kitchens, he moved to the venerable Connaught Hotel in London, where he held posts in all kitchen operations from Butcher to Garde Manger, Saucier of fine dining to banquets.
In 1992, Carter moved to the United States to head up kitchens at world-class resorts including the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, California, where he held the position of “Saucier” for the fine-dining restaurant. He served as Executive Sous Chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Florida and was the Executive Chef at the exclusive Vinings Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to joining The Phoenician, he was Executive Chef at the Ritz-Carlton, Cleveland, Ohio.
Carter is the 1991 recipient of the coveted William Heptionstall award, an honor given to “The Most Enterprising Young Chef in the U.K.” He also received the Maitrise Culinaire Diplome by Palmes Culinaire in 2002.
Jacques Qualin.
Chef de Cuisine - J&G Steakhouse
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Acclaimed as a “master of his art,” Qualin hails from the Franche-Comté region of France, a verdant area near the Jura Mountains. At age 16, he began his apprenticeship in a hotel kitchen, spending the next five years honing his craft at various hotels across France.
Qualin was soon lured to the bright lights of Paris where he studied under Michelin-rated chef Michel de Matteis before landing a prestigious post at the three-star Restaurant Taillevent, described by The New York Times as, “the best in Paris, if not all of France.” Qualin spent a year learning from celebrated chef Claude DeLigne before jumping the pond in 1990 to work for another French icon — Daniel Boulud at New York’s Le Cirque.
From 1991 to 1996, Qualin worked in Paris as Chef de Partie at famed Restaurant La Marée and again at Restaurant Taillevent before returning to New York for a stint at JoJo.. Qualin’s considerable culinary talent captured the attention of Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who hired him to serve as First Sous-chef at Vongerichten’s AAA Five Diamond and Mobil Five Star Jean Georges Restaurant, the restaurant that launched Vongerichten’s growing empire.
In 2003, Qualin became the executive chef at Le Périgord, where his revisions of traditional French cooking received rave reviews from New York City’s top food critics. He later left to launch his own fine-dining restaurant, called The French Corner, in upstate New York, which was well-received by critics and locals alike. After five years away, Qualin returns to the Vongerichten fold, happy to collaborate once again with his friend and to head up what is sure to be the Valley’s best steakhouse.
