Bio
Marcel Vigneron is an American chef who was the runner-up of the second season of the reality television competition Top Chef, from 2006-2007. He returned to the show to compete in Top Chef: All Stars, from 2010-2011.
In 2011 he starred in his own reality series Marcel's Quantum Kitchen, which follows Marcel in his new molecular gastronomy catering company, where each episode features the development of unique dishes for a client's event and the event itself.
Vigneron has dedicated his life to gastronomy and honing his skills as a chef. Promoted to prep cook when he was just 16, he was the youngest person in the kitchen and he's been changing the game ever since.
He talks to his food for inspiration and believes that cooking is one of the most beautiful careers that can be chosen, which is why he is so passionately driven to pursue his craft.
Marcel attended the acclaimed Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York and achieved his Associate's degree in Culinary Arts, as well as a Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management.
At the CIA, Marcel enrolled in the teaching assistant program where he served as the Sous Chef to Dwayne Lipuma at the school's award-winning Ristorante Caterina de' Medici.
Since then, he has continued to pursue the progression of gastronomy and at the young age of 25 gained international notoriety in Season 2 of Bravo's Emmy winning reality series Top Chef, where he made it to the finals finishing as the runner-up.
He has worked all over the globe with world-renowned chefs, including Joël Robuchon (named Chef of the Century by the Gault Millau) and Michael Mina (awarded Best Chef of 2002 by the James Beard Foundation during the time of Marcel's employment).
Marcel has also spent time in Barcelona, Spain, where he took classes at El Taller with famed Chef Ferran Adrià of El Bulli restaurant, which was named the top restaurant in the world in 2007 by Restaurant magazine.
Marcel also worked under José Andrés as the Executive Sous Chef of The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills and he is currently an Executive Chef in Los Angeles.
It's true that Marcel spends time conducting experiments and researching kitchen chemistry, but he truly feels that in order to become a great chef one must know much more about food than just science.
Marcel's avant-garde cuisine follows four simple culinary philosophies: respect for tradition, embracement of innovation, evocation of evolution, and the pursuit of excellence through integrity.