Meet JB. Michelin-trained French chef. Gun with a knife. Lover of cheese. Hater of coffee (?? … What a freak!!) And Head Chef of RecipeTin!
Chef JB, head chef of RecipeTin
Introducing Jean-Baptiste “JB” Alexandre, the head chef of the RecipeTin world! JB has been part of my team since early 2021 and is a classically trained French chef who is the head chef across the whole RecipeTin business. This means he works alongside me on the RecipeTin Eats side of the business and is also responsible for RecipeTin Meals, my food bank, where we make and donate meals to the vulnerable in our community.
When I first started RecipeTin, it was a one-girl-and-her-dog show, a website on which I published my favourite recipes.
These days, we do so much more. I have RecipeTin Meals, my food bank, where we make and donate meals to the vulnerable in our community. I published my first cookbook Dinner in 2022 and recently announced my second, Tonight. We do reader events where we host and sometimes even cook for hundreds of guests. We do live cooking shows at events like the Good Food & Wine show which tours Australia annually, and even demos on live TV. And we contribute recipes to print papers and magazines.
I couldn’t do all this without JB as part of my team!
I first met JB when he was running a catering company whose services I employed from time to time. He blew me away not only with his incredible food, but the speed, efficiency and high standard at which he worked.
Which all makes sense when you know his background. His extensive knowledge and skills are built from his culinary education in France and years working in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, including with the acclaimed French chef Daniel Boulud in New York and the late Alain Chapel in Mionnay, near Lyon, France.
In fact, JB was running one of Daniel Boulud’s restaurants when he was only 28 which is extraordinarily young for such an esteemed position!
JB shares responsibility with me for all things food and recipe related in the RecipeTin world. He and I work together to develop and test all the recipes you see on this website and that we publish in papers and magazines.
JB is also a goldmine for learning (professional! and secret!) tricks and techniques employed by fine dining restaurants and pro chefs. I believe that there’s always something new to be learnt in the kitchen and so I’m constantly striving to improve my skills and working knowledge. And JB plays a key role in my on-going development. He has taught me how to break down and humanly deal with a live mud crab, how to fillet different types of whole fish, and faster, better ways to chop.
He has taught me a wealth of information about classical French cooking. And French food, of course, is where he really comes into form! He taught me to make most of the great French classics I’ve published such as Beef Bourguignon, Brioche and Duck Confit, just to name a few.
He thinks he has great taste in music, and takes an unusual interest in the styling of his hair. But we forgive him for that, because he brings plenty of fun into our kitchen!
Besides being a super-talent in the kitchen, Dozer approves of him. Probably because where JB goes, great food follows!
