Boston Gourmet Chefs is a value added, specialty food distributor who takes pride in the powerful combination of European & American expertise and high-end culinary training. This makes the company uniquely suited to provide top chefs with pastry ingredients, artisan breads, breakfast pastries, desserts & hor d'oeuvres they need. In 2013, Boston Gourmet Chefs was awarded Bakery Supplier Of The Year from the North Atlantic Region of Whole Foods Market.
The company's founder and president, Jacques Cohen, was raised in France and Italy.
Passionate about food, he began studying both countries' cuisines as a teen. For nearly two decades he spent summers training with chefs in some of Europe's hottest spots, including the star-studded island of Hvar (Croatia) in the Adriatic -- where he also helped design innovative menus.
In 2001 Cohen moved to the Boston area to pursue his dream of bringing a taste of Europe to the U.S. Drawing on twenty-five years' experience running a premium shoe distribution business, when not cooking in Croatia, he founded Boston Gourmet Chefs in 2002 after studying at Johnson & Wales School of Culinary Arts.
Chris Gagnon, Boston Gourmet Chefs' CEO, is equally passionate and knowledgeable about fine food. He has worked in the industry since he was 14, first, at an old world butcher shop in his hometown, and cooking alongside his brother at the local pub. He moved on to cook with Boston's best chefs, before relocating to San Francisco in 1997 to follow his own culinary dream.
There, he was invited by Williams-Sonoma's founder, Chuck Williams, to run the firm's recipe and product development kitchen. Living in the bay area and working at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. for 6 years, Gagnon grew to appreciate and respect various international foods and cooking styles as well as California's abundant agricultural resources.
Returning to Boston in 2003, he was VP of business and product development at the award-winning, Dancing Deer Baking Company, a client of Boston Gourmet Chefs. Working together, Jacques and Chris recognized their shared commitment to quality of both products, and service. In 2007, he joined Boston Gourmet Chefs, where he is now CEO.
Cohen and Gagnon have since launched C'est Gourmet, an artisan food brand committed to quality and a rewarding consumer experience. Today, the mission at Boston Gourmet Chefs remains the same as it did when Jacques started the company - maintain the highest standards of product excellence while preserving the close personal relationships with clients and attention to detail that defines' Boston Gourmet Chefs' service and style.