BIO: Executive Chef Jacques Sorci

Chef Jacques Sorci joined The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel as Executive Chef in March 2011. Sorci’s culinary love affair began during his early childhood years spent in the French Alps, where his passion for cooking was cultivated by his grandmother. A retired chef from an Italian restaurant across the border of Italy, his grandmother spent hours in the kitchen preparing fresh foods from local markets and gardens with Sorci by her side. Raised in a family with an avid love for fine cuisine, Sorci quickly developed a palette for simple, full-flavored food.

In 1982, Sorci graduated from The Hotel School of Thonon les Bains, where he completed training at the Five-Star Le Grand Hotel in Cabourg, France, and the Five-Start Brussels Hilton in Belgium. Upon graduating, Sorci began his professional career in France and Switzerland, where he worked with Michelin-rated La Perle du Lac in Geneva, and with Maitre Cuisiner de France, Jean Solomon, in Montmelian. He then moved to the U.S. to begin his culinary career in the states. Upon moving, Sorci first became acquainted with Southwestern cuisine in Dallas, then moved to Atlanta to work with Executive Chef Jean Claude Bergeret, Maitre Cuisiner de France, at 103 West Restaurant. Following a two-and-a-half year return to Switzerland to work in the Five-Star Noga Hilton International in Geneva, he returned to the U.S. to join the Ritz-Carlton team.

Sorci gained valuable experience in luxury hospitality when he joined The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in 1992. Over the next few years, he quickly worked his way up through the kitchen at several Ritz-Carlton properties, and soon became Executive Chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner in Virginia and The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Ray in California. Most recently, he was the Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage at The Ritz-Carlton New York, Battery Park. During his 10 year tenure there, Sorci successfully opened the hotel’s culinary operation and helped win many accolades for the hotel, including an AAA Five-Diamond rating.

Sorci was inducted into the prestigious Maitres Cuisiniers de France (French Master Chef Association) in 2003. The following year, he was also inducted into the Academie Culinaire de France, a prestigious honor bestowed upon only a handful of the most outstanding chefs in France.

As Executive Chef at The Carlyle, Sorci is tasked with creating memorable dishes and menus for The Carlyle Restaurant, Café Carlyle, Bemelmans Bar, The Gallery and hotel room service. Since the beginning of his tenure, Sorci has played an instrumental role in the innovative cuisine to be discovered within the walls of the hotel, utilizing the freshest seasonal ingredients and local produce. From The Carlyle Restaurant’s classic Dover Sole to the Bobby Short Hash offered at Café Carlyle, each elegant dish reflects Chef’s vision of simple, yet sophisticated contemporary French cuisine.