Painting Chefs Jackets

The next chapter of my  ‘brilliant’ career path - Chefs jacket painter!

As I mentioned, I had nothing to wear to the chef portrait exhibit opening at the James Beard House.. So I painted a Bragard chef's jacket to wear covered with portraits of the chefs!

A back view with my favorite back views of reknown chefs.

I wore 4 different jackets to Paul Bocuse award luncheon. I rotated them in the ladies room. 

A tall, dark, thin man came over and said he wanted to order a painted jacket. I asked for his business card. He had none. I asked could he write his name on a piece of paper.. 

He wrote ✍️  George Duboeuf!

I did a special "Flower Label" jacket for a woman friend of his.

At the same Bocuse event a chef invited me for lunch at his Lyon hotel restaurant. I ate my first whole black Perigord truffle en croute. After I finished his dish. I assured him it was wonderful (what did I know of truffles, chocolate or otherwise) 

He informed me, 'Now you will paint me a chef's jacket. You have just eaten your payment!'
Pas de choise / I had no choice..C'est la vie. Sometimes you have to ‘play’ 🎻 for your dinner.

I met famed French chef, Roger Verge at that luncheon. He asked me to paint him a special jacket for his upcoming vegetable cookbook tour. Payment would be a stay at his fabulous French Riviera inn,Le Moulin de Mougins. Malheureusement, I never got around to visiting. 

 Wendy Brandes at the Wall Street Journal did a little story on the jackets,
"Michelangelo liked ceilings.
Diego Rivera preferred murals.
Carol Gillott goes for...chefs jackets." 

I never ever worried what to wear to a ball or any foodie events I was shooting. I was a walking sandwich board for the jackets. Mothers liked the jackets for their graduating culinary school kids. Chefs liked them for special events. the chefs were just entering the celebrity arena at that time. I threw in this back view of the "pasta jacket" of a hilltown for all you returning sojourners from Italy!