Executive Chef Claude Le-Tohic

For Executive Chef Claude Le-Tohic, it all began with crêpes. Born into a restaurant family in Northern France, Le-Tohic recognized at an early age his place was in the culinary arts.

"My parents owned a crêperie in Brittany," he said. "I was a young child working side by side with them. I started waiting tables when I was five years old." While many his age relied on games and toys for diversions, Le-Tohic's playground was inside the crêperie; it wasn't long before he was cooking beside his parents and learning all aspects of running the family business.

Recognizing his passion, Le-Tohic attended culinary school in Vannes, France. Following graduation, he accepted an apprenticeship at Les Hortensias, a Michelin one star restaurant where he perfected his skills and honed his craft. Two years later, he joined the kitchen of acclaimed Chef Ghislaine Arabians' Le Restaurant, a Michelin two star eatery in Lille, France. Less then a year later in 1987, Le-Tohic made culinary acquaintance with the chef who would forever change his life, Joël Robuchon.

Recognizing his skill, Robuchon invited Le-Tohic to become chef de cuisine at Jamin, his Michelin three star restaurant in Paris. The duo worked together for almost a year before military service called Le-Tohic away from the kitchen, but it wouldn't be the end of this powerful partnership.

From 1989 to 1998, Claude Le-Tohic's career was filled with positions at some of the finest restaurants in France. Among these, a position with luxury hotel and restaurant alliance Relais & Châteaux, where he worked in 1990 as chef of Michelin two star Le Chateau de Locguenole. In 1991 on the heels of this success, Le-Tohic assumed the role of lead chef at L'Assiette Gourmande, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Honfleur. Soon after, he rejoined the Relais & Châteaux group to open the restaurant La Chaumiere, which he ran for five years.

In 1998, Le-Tohic stepped into a lead position at the Centre de formation d'Apprentis Interconsulaire de l'Eure, an apprenticeship program. As head of the center's catering division, Le-Tohic oversaw the education of approximately 600 students. During this time, having earned the respect of the French culinary industry, Le-Tohic received the prestigious peer-juried Meilleur Ouvier de France award in 2004.

After seven years of inspiring work at the CFAIE and at the request of Joël Robuchon, Le-Tohic came to the United States. Chef Robuchon was opening his eponymous Las Vegas outlet, his first in the U.S., and wanted a chef whom he could trust with his culinary vision and standards. Claude Le-Tohic was the perfect choice. Invited by the "Chef of the Century" to open Joël Robuchon and L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand, Le-Tohic moved to Las Vegas in 2005.

"I am very proud to work with Monsieur Robuchon and humbled he has chosen to trust me with his namesake," he said.

Le-Tohic works to convey Chef Robuchon's vision while combining his own point of view. His work has earned Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand the only Michelin three star rating in Las Vegas, and the restaurant also has achieved the Forbes Five Star and AAA Five Diamond accolades.

The restaurants Le-Tohic has worked at in his career to date hold a combined 12 Michelin stars between them. Despite all the awards and recognition his skills have garnered; including a James Beard Award nomination in 2009 for Best Chef: Southwest and induction as a member of the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France, Chef Claude Le-Tohic remains a grounded and humble professional.