The Beginning
Upon his arrival in Vancouver it was no surprise that Michel Jacob would open his own fine dining French restaurant and name it after the finest restaurant he had ever seen and dined at in his hometown of Strasbourg, the three star Michlelin restaurant Au Crocodile.
Chef/owner Emile Jung had instilled a level of quality and service that Michel had to duplicate for himself and Vancouverites alike. Michel’s main goal was to open a restaurant that could match and achieve the level of culinary standards and service that are still present today at Au Crocodile. Fourty years have passed and it is safe to say that Michel has surpassed all expectations. Vancouverites are pleased Michel followed his dream.
40 Years of Le Crocodile
Fourty years later, with some of the original staff still here, Le Crocodile still remains in Vancouver as one of the city’s most acclaimed and visited restaurants.
This understated, elegant restaurant has been host to some of the world’s most famous people such as: Jean Chrétien, Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg, Al Pacino and Cindy Crawford… to name a few. All business people alike will tell you that Le Crocodile is at the top of their list when you want to impress a client. You will never be disappointed and Michel’s culinary expertise will always make you look great.
With everything else aside, Michel is most proud of one accomplishment—Family Loyalty. Over the past 40 years, Michel has cooked for and seen generation after generation of families pass through the doors of Le Crocodile and, most have made Le Crocodile part of their family.
Our Story Continues
As a young apprentice in Strasbourg, France, under Chef Johnny Letzer of Zimmer, Michel and his fellow chefs were often taken to restaurants for first hand experience of the local dining scene. One momentous day, Chef Letzer took the entire brigade to Restaurant Au Crocodile. The chefs were served a meal, “like nothing they had ever seen or tasted before”.
Everything was under the expert hand of Emile Jung, who came out personally to explain the philosophy of his cooking. It was at that meal that Michel Jacob set the standards for his own culinary path. Chef Emile Jung became his ‘inspirational culinary mentor’.
Following his apprenticeship, Michel worked with Pierre Gaertner at the celebrated Aux Armes de France in Ammerschwir. Further travels took him to Ireland at the famed Ashford Castle (then owned by the Guiness Family), Lausanne, Switzerland, and a stage in Belgium and Corsica.
Impeccable service with flair, never pretense or fanfare. This fine dining French restaurant blends traditional French cooking with innovative Westcoast style
