Michelin-Trained Chef Joins Fast-Growing California Brand

Key Takeaways

Training under Michelin-starred chefs in Belgium taught Bonnarens the value of discipline, composure and mastering the basics.

Years of global kitchen experience, combined with becoming a father, shaped Bonnarens’ belief in trusting his team, giving them responsibility and helping cooks grow through real ownership.

Chef Bert Bonnarens fell in love with food long before he ever put on a chef’s jacket.

He grew up in the kitchen helping his grandmother and mother cook. “I was always hungry,” he says with a laugh. When he realized high school didn’t suit him, and he needed something more hands-on, a six-year culinary program in Belgium became the obvious choice.

It functioned more like an academy than a traditional classroom, with rotations through bakery, butchery and hote