Alain Lemaire

He/him/his

Years of Participation

2022-2023

Chef Lemaire is an award winning chef, guest host of the “A Taste of Haiti” episode of the Food Network show “Luda Can’t Cook” on Discovery Plus. He is also a contestant of Food Network's hit series Cutthroat Kitchen and Chopped. He is a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he first discovered his interest in cooking. Later on, he developed an increasing passion for food and foodservice which led him to attend the Culinary program at the acclaimed Johnson & Wales University. Thanks to his heritage and having spent most of his career in South Florida, Caribbean and Latin flavors play a major role in Chef Lemaire's style of cooking: "fresh, bold and in your face!" as he would say it.

Chef Lemaire has participated in and featured as a guest chef in numerous food events and festivals throughout the United States and overseas. Charleston Wine & Food Festival, New York African Restaurant Week, Grace Jamaican Jerk Fest, Journée de la Cuisine Haitienne and Taste of the Caribbean in Montreal Canada, Iron Fork Miami, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Taste of Dallas, and much more.

Chef Lemaire was the winner of the 2017 Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival Celebrity Chef Throw Down. He has been inducted in the 2017 class of the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida Top 20 Under 40 and also the 2017 class of Legacy MIA Top 40 Under 40. The members are selected for their commitment and contributions professionally, socially, academically and personally. As a community of vibrant, energetic, creative and out-of-the box thinkers, the members are an expression of cultural pride throughout their community.

Chef Lemaire is also a huge supporter of education, giving back to the community and the less fortunate. He has partnered with Haiti Chefs for Education, World Central Kitchen and Easter Seals South Florida.

Highlights:

* Host chef on Food Network's "Luda Can't Cook" with Chris "Ludacris" Bridges. "A Taste of Haiti" episode. February 13, 2022.
* Guest chef at Charleston Wine and Food Festival, March 2022.
* Guest chef at Beaufort Wine and Food Festival, April 2022
* Hosted A Taste of Haiti Dinner with Chris Viaud and Sebastien Salomon in New Hampshire. August 2022
* Competed on Food Network's Chopped. Meat Fight: Goat February 12, 2021.
* Hosted "Ou Manje Deja?" Pop-Up Dinner in New Jersey. August 2021
* Speaker at New York African Restaurant Week. 2019
* Helped open a Caribbean restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019
* Catered at the Pentagon. 2018
* Guest chef at New York African Restaurant Week. 2018
* On May 18, 2018 cooked the first ever all Haitian dinner at the James Beard Foundation House in New York with 7 other Haitian chefs.
* Named Top 10 Caribbean born chefs to watch 2017.
* Awarded the 2017 Young Professional Top 20 Under 40 by Haitian American Chamber of Commerce of Florida.
* Awarded the 2017 Legacy MIA Top 40 Under 40 black professionals in South Florida, Legacy Magazine.
* Guest chef at the Haitian Embassy in DC. 2016
* Creator and organizer of Taste of Haiti in Miami 2013 to 2015
* Guest chef at Goûts et Saveur Lakay in Haiti, 2012 - 2016
*Host chef at Journée de la Cuisine Haitienne, Montreal. September 2016 and 2017.
* Guest chef at Taste of Dallas 2016
* Awarded 2016 Silver Spoon Award for "Best Taste" at the 2016 Horseshoe Bay Resort Wine and Dine Experience, Austin, TX.
* Awarded 2016 "Best Signature Dish" at the 2016 Horseshoe Bay Resort Wine and Dine Experience, Austin, TX.
* Represented Haiti at the Global Traditional Cuisine Gathering in Mexico City, Mexico. September 2016.
* Competed on Food Network's Cutthroat Kitchen "Mo Molasses, Mo Problems" August 9, 2015
* Co-produced two seasons of Le Chef TV show, the first-ever televised culinary battle show in Haiti. September 2014 - September 2016
* Awarded the 2013 "Best Chef" by Blackstreet Celebration Awards in New York
* Featured among South Florida's best chefs at the "Chefs for Obama" fundraiser in September 2012.