Restaurant Description

In May of 2006, Jean-Michel’s wife Kimberly and Jean-Michel himself proudly accepted the mission of continuing The Left Bank traditions when they became the new owners. In 1970, Liz and Luc Meyer arrived in Vail and started The Left Bank Restaurant. Throughout the years they have made The Left Bank, the place to wine and dine for discerning locals and visitors. Luc has cultivated relationships with the finest vintner’s in France and California over the past 35 years in order to bring you selections of the rarest wines available, impeccably stored and aged for your drinking pleasure. Jean-Michel’s mother knew he was destined for the kitchen ever since the day that she couldn’t find her pots, pans and utensils. After an exhaustive search of their home, she found her pans, full of mud in the barn, with her 8 year old son. Cooking! Jean-Michel began his apprenticeship at the age of 15 with a small restaurant called Les Trois Biches in the Chartreuse region of the French Alps. In 1996, after working at The Noga Hilton in Cannes and spending three years as the Chef of Chez Le Per Gras in Grenoble, he moved to Carmel Valley, California to be the Executive Chef of Stonepine Estate Resort, a Relais and Chateaux Purple Shield award winner where he met his wife Kimberly. She was managing Los Laureles Lodge, the sister property to Stonepine when the two fell in love. They bought a 20’ travel trailer to see the country and ended up in Key West, Florida where the eloped on a sailboat in front of 40 strangers and the most beautiful sunset imaginable. Luc found them in Florida, lured them to Vail and The Left Bank Restaurant. In 1998, Jean-Michel Chelain joined The Left Bank as the Sous Chef and rapidly showed his incredible talent and dedication in the kitchen, rivaling only Luc. Except for a two year intermission as the Executive Chef of the Bleu Jacket Restaurant in Lawrence, Kansas, Jean-Michel has been leading The Left Bank kitchen as it’s Chef. With Jean-Michel as your Chef and Kimberly as your hostess and Liz and Luc continuing as our mentors it is our pleasure to consistently use only the freshest ingredients of the finest quality and prepare everything from scratch in our own kitchen. Bon Appetit et à votre santé!