Jacques Torres

Born in Algeria and raised in the south of France, Jacques Torres gravitated towards the culinary arts at a young age. Becoming an apprentice at a pastry shop when he was just a teenager, he followed that early start to a full career focused on making chocolates and pastries. In the '70s and '80s, Torres honed his crafted in France, working with notable chefs and learning more and more about the art of food across culinary schools. By the late '80s, he moved to America, leading him to his most high profile role yet as the Executive Pastry Chef at the highly regarded French restaurant Le Cirque in New York City. After more than a decade at Le Cirque, Torres left in 2000 to make his own chocolate shop in New York City, the aptly named Jacques Torres Chocolate. The store slowly expanded across the country and led to the short-lived cooking show "Chocolate with Jacques Torres" (Food Network 2002) that starred Torres and touched on his French history and modern American presence. While his prospective television goals stalled, Torres' shops succeeded, eventually leading to the chocolatier opening the Choco-Story New York, a museum about the creation and deliciousness of chocolate. He returned to the world of television in 2018 with the reality competition show "Nailed It!" (Netflix 2018-), which he hosted with comedian Nicole Byer.