Jean-Yves Poirey
taped at Le Saint-Honore, Le Meridien
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
http://www.lemeridienhotels.com

Jean=Yves Poirey was born in French Argelias, and moved with his family to France, to the village of Annecy Haute-Savoie, when he was 10. There, with his grandparents and parents — who were owners of restaurants — he discovered his culinary gifts

At 15 Poirey started at the hotel school at Thonon Les Bainsø. From school he started working on cruise ships, cruising the Caribbean, the South American and the African coasts, and the Mediterranean. Returning to dry land, he started working at Le Meridien Damascus in Syria, then at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Poirey returned to Le Meridien Group, and worked at Le Meridien hotels in Lagos, Nigeria; Libreville, Gabon; Kuwait, and Le Meridien Bahia in Brazil. Moving to Rio de Janeiro, Poirey worked at Le Meridien Copacabana, where he stayed for six years. Since then, Poirey has returned to Le Meridien Lagos in Nigeria.