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Qualified and CertifiedWSET & Women Chefs
As Executive Chef Instructor for Laguna Culinary Arts’ Professional Chef Program, Chef Laurent Brazier brings 20 years of culinary experience to the classroom. His experience ranges from his service as a Chef at 2- and 3- Michelin Star restaurants in France, to the positions of Head Chef and Executive Chef at resort hotels and country clubs in France and the U.S., to being instrumental in opening several restaurants, including his own Zagat-rated restaurant right here in Laguna Beach. The restaurants he has served have consistently won awards for outstanding cuisine, including his most recent, Picayo Restaurant.
Chef Brazier is Executive Chef and co-owner of Picayo Restaurant in Laguna Beach, where his French-Mediterranean quickly became a favorite among the locals. Picayo opened its doors to the public in 1997, and has been rated “best restaurant in Laguna” by the ZAGAT survey. During his tenure at Picayo, Chef Brazier began teaching the secrets of his delicious cuisine to his most devoted followers at cooking demonstrations at the restaurant, eventually bringing many of those fans to his home-chef classes at Laguna Culinary Arts. He also served as a guest chef instructor for the Laguna Culinary Arts Professional Program prior to joining the faculty on a full-time basis. His gracious yet technically exacting style has won him praises from all of his students.
Chef Brazier first came to California in 1987 to join Le Meridien Hotel in Newport Beach as sous-chef in Antoine, an award-winning French restaurant. In 1990 he took the head chef position at the Café Fleuri where he garnered several Gold Awards in French cuisine from the Southern California Restaurant Writers. He left for Beirut, Lebanon in 1994 to open a fine dining restaurant for private investors, and in 1995 opened another restaurant in a four-start hotel in Propriano on the island of Corsica, France.
Chef Brazier received his Certificat d’Aptitute Professionelle de Cuisine (Chef Bachelor Degree) and his Brevet d’ Etudes Professionelle d’ Hotellerie (Chef Masters Degree) from Jean Ferrandi Chef School in Paris, France.