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Cutthroat Kitchen Chef Alain Lemaire

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Alain Lemaire
Alain Lemaire

2015 Was His Biggest Year Yet

By Jean Alfred Delva

Q: On August 9th, 2015, you competed on Cutthroat Kitchen on Food Network. 

Chef Alain Lemaire, how did you get to be on the show?

A: I was introduced to one of the casting agents through a mutual friend, Chef Manoushcka Guerrier of Beverly Hills. She felt I would be a good fit for the show. I auditioned, as you know, and the rest is history. 

Q: How was the experience?

A: The experience was surreal, and nothing like I expected. What you see on TV is just half of what really happens on set. The challenges are real, the sabotages, the clock, all real. I can tell you that I really felt a lot of pressure, since I had a country on my back. It was no longer about me. 

“What you see on TV is just half of what really happens on set. The challenges are real, the sabotages, the clock, all real.”

Q: What type of responses have you received from fans, friends and family?

A: I received positive feedback from everyone. It was very humbling and amazing to get messages, calls, posts, even from people I barely knew. I truly can say that it was a real blessing. The only downside to it all was that my dad didn’t get a chance to watch the show before he was taken away from us. 

Q: 3rd Annual Taste of Haiti, May 2015. H ow was the event compared to 2013 and 2014?

A: Being involved in Taste of Haiti for three years straight was challenging, but great. We wanted to give the community something to call their own, something that they could enjoy with the entire family. Taste of Haiti is a glimpse of Haiti, in the heart of Miami. 


Q: What should people expect for 2016?

A: Unfortunately, I have to take a hiatus from the event to focus on personal projects and help my companies in Florida and in Haiti grow. But as far as this year is concerned for myself, you can expect several pop-up dinner events in Florida, New York, Atlanta and other cities throughout the U.S. and in Haiti. You can expect other events, some cultural and some social later this year. I’m going in! 

Q: Miami Gardens Wine and Food Experience November 2015 – was that your first year at the festival?

A: Yes, it was my first time, and I really enjoyed being involved. It was the inaugural event, and I along with 2 other chefs were the headliners.

Q: Anything you’d like to share about this particular festival?

A: It was a great event, featuring Omari Hardwick from the hit show Power. The highlight was seeing myself on a couple of billboards on 826 and I-95.

“The highlight was seeing myself on a couple of billboards on 826 and I-95.”


Q: How did the other chefs look at you, knowing that you’d been on Cutthroat Kitchen? A: To be honest, we filmed Le Chef TV Show’s first season right before I did Cutthroat Kitchen. So there were no pressures on any of the other chefs, nor did they look at me differently. As far as the 2nd season goes, being a co-producer of the show, I decided it would be best not to participate and focus more on creating something substantial and lively. Season 2 is about current, new and upcoming talents in Haiti. We used strictly local chefs, some amateurs and students from the culinary schools in Haiti.

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