Romain Avril is a French born celebrity chef based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He was a guest judge twice on Food Network Canada's ''

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'' and a finalist on

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'' Chopped Canada''. He won his episode of '' Recipe for Disaster'' and has made over 100 appearances on television and radio. In August 2023, Romain published his first cookbook, ''The Vegan Bridge''. In 2020, he launched his

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''.''

Early life and education

Avril grew up in his native country,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he started his passion for cooking at the age of 13. He enrolled in cooking school at Lycee Branly (

La Roche sur Yon La Roche-sur-Yon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is ''Yonnais''. Known for its historical significance and cultur ...

, Vendee, France) at 14 where he graduated with his BEP Cuisine in 2002 and his BAC PRO Cuisine in 2004. In 2006, Romain moved to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and obtained his BTS in F&B and

Hospitality Management Hospitality management may refer to: * Hotel management occupation, the practice of running hotels * Hospitality industry The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and beve ...

. Finally, he graduated with his Degree in Chinese and French Gastronomy and Art of Dining in 2007 from

University of Angers The University of Angers () is a public university in western France, with campuses in Angers, Cholet, and Saumur. It is part of the Angers-Le Mans University Community. History The University of Angers was initially established during the 11 ...

while getting the possible marks with his thesis highlighting the use of plants and flowers in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

Career

In 1999, Romain had his first real experience in a kitchen at a local restaurant in ''Les Sables d’Olonne''. This couple of weeks in field would have him deciding to enroll in cooking school the following year. In 2001, he had his first internship at the Hotel Restaurant ''L’Ocean'' in ''St-Vincent sur Jard''. From 2002 to 2004, Romain worked weekends while at school during the week at a local restaurant called ''La Flambée''. In 2004, Romain got his first Michelin experience working at Le Domaine de La Bretesche. He once again got a summer job here and spent 6 months altogether in the establishment. In 2005, he got his second one-star Michelin experience working at the ''Noga Hilton'' in Cannes. He also worked a summer job at ''The Walts'' in

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Marne-la-Vallée, France, located about east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, seven Disney-owned hotels, two convention centers, a golf course, an arena, and a shopping, dining and entert ...

. In 2007, Romain moved to the United Kingdom and started to work at
The Greenhouse
', a 2 Michelin star restaurant in

Mayfair, London Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts in ...

. From 2007 to 2009, he worked at ''The Langshott Manor'', a Surrey restaurant pushing for its first Michelin star. From mid-2009 to late 2010, Romain moved to his last venue in the UK working as a Senior

Sous-chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members of th ...

at ''The Branksome Hotel'' in Haslemere, Surrey. In September 2010, Romain moved to Toronto, Canada, on a twelve-month visa. He started to work a week later at a French Restaurant called ''Le St Tropez'' as an Executive Chef. He then got hired at Claudio Aprile's ''Colborne Lane'' as Chef de partie and was soon promoted to Sous Chef. In 2014, Romain opened a new Claudio Aprile restaurant, known as ''Origin North'', as an Executive Sous Chef and became the Chef de Cuisine. From 2014 to 2016, he took on the project to revive a popular French brasserie owned by Charles Khabouth, ''La Societé'', as Executive Chef. In 2015, he participated as a candidate for Chopped Canada and was a finalist. In 2016, Romain was approached by Peter Freed to open the project, ''Lavelle'', a 16000 square foot rooftop patio and restaurant in the heart of downtown Toronto's King West neighbourhood. This led him to being a guest judge on Food Network's Top Chef Canada. In 2017, he got his first ambassadorships with Nespresso Canada (2020) and Monogram Canada. This led him to launch his first company, Romain Avril Inc. From 2018 to 2019, he started the position of Culinary Director at ''Neruda'', in the east end of Toronto. Since 2019, Romain has been teaching part time as

George Brown College The George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology is a public, fully accredited college (Canada), college of applied arts and technology with three campuses in downtown Toronto (Ontario, Canada). Like many other colleges in Ontario, George ...

as well as running a food segment on

CBC Radio Canada CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

. Avril launched his own social media series, ''Serve it or Trash it'' providing a lighthearted comic relief to his followers. He also launched his merchandise ''Franchiz’d'' after his series of croissant reviews took off internationally.

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

had to make him close his first restaurant before it even opened. Avril has since pivoted to offer multiple services, focusing on high end private dining in client’s home and corporation. Consulting in the hospitality industry also has been a large focus. He has collaborated with luxury brands through partnerships and social media activations. He's also running virtual and in person cooking classes. In 2023, he launched his cookbook, ''The Vegan Bridge'' and currently working on his second one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avril, Romain French television chefs University of Angers alumni People from L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise 1985 births Living people French expatriates in Canada