Born and raised in France, Chef Richard Jallet began his culinary career with seasonal jobs in France and Switzerland after graduating from a very small technical college. He then moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to work at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where he learned under his mentor Chef Edward Merard and progressed from a demi-chef saucier to banquet chef and finally to sous chef.
Chef Jallet left Canada for the United States in 1988 to join the Hilton Hotels corporation. He worked for Hilton properties in Miami, Atlanta (where he was the youngest Executive Chef at the time within the organization), Washington, D.C., and finally Minneapolis.
After tiring of the corporate life, Chef Jallet decided to join the Minneapolis Club, a city club, for eight years. He then moved to Eldorado Country Club in Southern California for 10 years.
In 2014, Chef Jallet moved back to the East Coast to become Executive Chef of the Baltimore (Md.) Country Club, one of only 11 country clubs in the U.S. with two clubhouses (one in the city and the other in suburban Lutherville, Md.). Combined the two campuses have five kitchens, about three dozen employees and total F&B revenue of $6 million.
Chef Jallet has been a member of the gastronomique club “La chaine des rotisseurs” for over 30 years, and he is a “culinary gastronomique conseiller” with the Baltimore chapter.
Awards that Chef Jallet has earned through his career have included:
- 1st Prize, Canadian cheese contest, 1985 (Appetizer category)
- S. Chef’s Open Gold Medal, Shell Fish Category, 1989
- S. Chef’s Open Silver Medal, Fish Category, 1990
- S. Chef’s Open Silver Medal, Seafood Category, 1991
- Grand Prize Winner, ”Favorite Hors D’oeuvre Contest”
- 1993 Finalist, Game Cook Off, Orlando ACF Competition
- 1993 Grand Prize Winner, Ice Cream Signature Contest
- 1994 2nd Place Hotel Cup, Chicago, National Restaurant Association show
- 1993 Hilton Executive Chef Conference Award, “Best Merchandised Banquet Buffets”
- Two-time winner, Hilton Hotels “Leadership Award”
- Nominated in Washington D.C. for Best Chef of the Year, 1992
Chef Jallet was featured in a “Chef’s Thoughts” article in Club & Resort Business’ Chef to Chef supplement’s October 2017 issue. He was also featured in Chef to Chef’s Beyond the Plate series, VIDEO: For Richard Jallet, Opportunities Come from Effective Networking and Being Humble.
