Chef Hugues Boutin is an extremely creative and positive individual with over 30 years of experience, spanning from teaching at cooking schools to working in fine dining hotels and restaurants around the world. After graduating from the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec in Montréal with a Superior Studies degree in Culinary Arts, Chef Boutin gained substantial culinary experience working globally. He has extensive experience in multi-cultural environments, having served as Executive Chef for Club Med for 7 years at various locations including Mexico, Australia, the Bahamas, Malaysia, the USA, and Cuba. Fluent in French, Spanish, and English, Chef Boutin has a particular fondness for Mexican and Italian cuisines. Chef Boutin has worked in renowned establishments such as The Little Nell in Aspen, ranked among the top 25 hotels in the USA, and the 3-star Michelin restaurant Bernard Loiseau’s “La Côte d’Or” in Burgundy, France. For over 8 years, he served as a chef instructor at two culinary universities in Mexico City, and since 2015, he has been training culinary students in Bulgaria. He is a well-rounded professional with additional certifications in Food Production Management obtained in Bali, Indonesia, in 2005. Since the same year, he has been a ServSafe© Trainer & Proctor, conducting classes and training seminars for groups ranging from 4 to 150 participants. As a recognized culinary expert, Chef Boutin is frequently invited as a marshal/judge in various competitions. In 2017, he served as a jury member in the Bocuse d'Or Bulgaria competition. He has also coached culinary teams to top positions in numerous culinary competitions. Notably, at the 2022 Bulgarian National Culinary Cup in Sofia, he coached a Culinary Arts Institute student to win gold in the meat category, and assisted students in winning gold for the Team event. In the 2019 Bulgarian National Culinary Cup in Plovdiv, two of his students earned gold medals, with one winning the overall Pastry Chef of the Year competition with 3 gold medals, and the other securing the Cup in the meat category. His most valuable lesson to students is: “Do it from the heart or do not do it at all!”