Culinary Arts Faculty
Students in Boston University’s culinary arts program learn from the finest working chefs and food experts in the industry, including:
Jamie Bissonnette
Jamie Bissonnette has had a passion for food since watching his childhood heroes Jacques Pépin and Julia Child. Training with some of the best chefs, Jamie has been in Boston for nine years, and is currently chef and co-owner of Toro and Coppa restaurants in the South End. Bissonnette is a champion of “nose-to-tail” cooking and eating.
Chris Douglass
Chris Douglass began his career in cooking under Odette Bery at Another Season on Beacon Hill. After learning the trade, he opened Icarus in Boston’s South End. Icarus was a Boston institution for over thirty years, before closing in 2009. Douglass now owns and operates two successful restaurants in Dorchester: The Ashmont Grill and Tavolo. He is extremely dedicated to responsible, sustainable practices, and is a member of the Chefs Collaborative. He also serves on the boards of the Boston Public Market Association and Saint Mark’s Area Main Streets.
Michael Leviton
After earning a degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, Leviton worked under a number of esteemed chefs, including Joyce Goldstein at Square One, Alain Rondelli at Ernie’s, and Daniel Boulud at Le Cirque. Former executive chef at UpStairs at the Pudding in Cambridge (now UpStairs on the Square), he is currently chef at his own award-winning restaurants, Lumière and Area Four.
Jean-Jacques Paimblanc
Jean-Jacques Paimblanc studied at the École de Cuisine de Lyon. He was at at Maxim’s and Grand Véfour in Paris, and the Savoy Hotel in London, before immigrating to the United States and working at Le Pavillon in New Orleans. A former director of research and development at Howard Johnson (with Pierre Franey and Jacques Pépin), Paimblanc also served time as executive chef at Legal Sea Foods. He is co-author of Seafood As We Like It (Globe Pequot Press, 1985), and currently operates Cocorico Chocolate Company.
Janine Sciarappa
Pastry chef Janine Sciarappa is the owner of Sweet Lessons, where she gives private, in-home baking lessons. She is a graduate of BU’s Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts, where she trained under Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, and Albert Kumin. Sciarappa has worked in many pastry shops in the Boston area.
Jeremy Sewall
A native of upstate New York, Chef Jeremy Sewall spent his childhood summers in Maine with family, feasting on lobsters, clams, chowders and other New England specialties. Since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America with honors, Sewall has worked in several restaurants on both coasts, including the famed L?Espalier. Currently, Sewall is chef and co-owner of Lineage, as well as a Collaborating Chef at both Eastern Standard and Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square.
John Vyhnanek
John Vyhnanek is currently is a restaurant consultant and director of goodcooking.com, an online cooking resource. Vyhnanek was previously chef and owner of the award-winning Harvard Street Grill, and executive chef at The Ritz-Carlton, Boston. He is author of The Ritz-Carlton Cookbook (HJB Book, 1988) and a graduate of Culinary Institute of America.
Board of Advisors
| Rebecca Alssid | Director |
| Chris Douglass | Chef, restaurateur, teacher |
| Charles Grandon | Chef, teacher |
| Jeremy Sewall | Chef, restaurateur |
| Michael Leviton | Chef, restaurateur, teacher |
| Jean-Jacques Paimblanc | Chef, author, teacher |
| Jacques Pépin | Chef, author, teacher |
| Janine Sciarappa | Pastry chef, teacher |
| John Vyhnanek | Chef, author, teacher |
| Jasper White | Chef, restaurateur, teacher, author |
