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Alain Coumont (born March 4, 1961) is a Belgian chef and restaurateur, and founder of Le Pain Quotidien.

[edit] Biography

Alain Coumont is the son and grandsom of grocers. His grandmother ran a hotel in front of the train station in Huy, Belgium. As a child in Belgium, Alain spent countless hours perched on a chair, watching his grandmother make bread. Then, in 1977, after a voyage to the United States, where he was impressed by the success of Michel Guérard, he abandoned his classical studies and enrolled in the Hotel School of Namur in Belgium. After graduating, Alain worked in a number of highly regarded restaurants including Michel Guérard (Eugenie Les Bains, France), Georges Blanc (Vonnas, France) and Joel Robuchon (Paris, France).

As a young chef in Brussels, Alain could not find the right bread for his restaurant. Passionate about quality, he returned to his roots and opened a small bakery where he could knead flour, salt and water into the rustic loaves of his childhood. Alain opened his bakery in rue Antoine Dansaert in Brussels in 1990, in those days an avant-garde quarter of Belgian fashion. He named his bakery “Le Pain Quotidien.” Brussels quickly took to the taste of this traditional bread. Alain evolved his offering to include simple salads and tartines, keeping bread the cornerstone of the menu. At a local flea market, Alain found a long table where his guests could sit to eat together; it became Le Pain Quotidien’s first communal table.

Success was rapid and Alain had numerous candidates who wanted to open other Le Pain Quotidien outlets. In the space of a few months, 10 locations opened in Brussels. Alain then followed his dream to open restaurants in the United States. In 1997, Alain opened his first store on Madison Avenue in New York City, which was an instant success. Shortly thereafter, he met a group of Belgian investors who backed his U.S. expansion plans. With this financial support, he opened several locations in New York City and later in Los Angeles. Alain currently serves as the Company’s Chief Creative Officer. In this role, he remains the driving force behind the brand’s dedication to organic ingredients. Alain spends most of this time traveling to support the concept throughout the world. Alain is also the co-founder of BioGhetto.com, which he established in 2005 with Gilles Valeriani. The company produces the RN13 label of organic vins de pique-nique (picnic wines) in the Languedoc Roussillon region of France. Alain currently resides with his family in Montpellier, France.

[edit] External links

• Le Pain Quotidien Official Site
• Le Pain Quotidien Upper East Side review
• [ http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/farm-fresh-french-recipes/ Farm-Fresh French Recipes in Food and Wine Magazine, August 2009]