Chef Profile: Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex
Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex, 42 years old, is a graduate of les Maristes in Lyon and the Lycée Hôtelier Savoie Léman, at Thonon-les-Bains in the Haute Savoie.
After this he worked for Pierre Orsi in Lyon, and Philippe Million in Albertville.
He became the personal chef to Christina Onassis in the mid 1980’s – a role which offered him extensive travel opportunities and opened up new realms of gastronomic discovery.
After a spell doing National Service, JC was chef de partie in the brigade of Didier Clement at the Grand Hotel du Lion D’Or in Romorantin-Lanthenay in the Loire Valley.
This was one of the most important times in his culinary career and JC attributes much of his success today to the inspiration and guidance he was given by Clement.
His next move was back to the family-owned l’Auberge de l’Ile in Lyon, France. Shortly afterwards, JC was involved in a serious car crash, the recovery from which took over a year, and left him without the use of his right arm.
Not surprisingly, he was advised to abandon cooking and consider an alternative profession.
However, his extraordinary determination and passion for his craft meant that he was back in the kitchen the following year, and, flying in the face of adversity, he went on to win his first Michelin star just two years later.
At the beginning of July 2008 he launched a new gastronomic venture with the opening of l’Ambassade de L’ile in South Kensington, London.
Filed under: Chef Profiles, France, London | Tagged: Chef profile, France, Lyon