About Us

Wine and Food Philosophy

Click here to view the
New York Times article
about Chef Jane from
June 2007.

Jane Brock, M.A.
Chef Instructor and Wine Professor
Owner, Manager & Designer
WineandFoodPhilosophy.com & Hospitality Consulting Services

Jane is currently a Chef Instructor in the recreational division of The Institute
of Culinary Education (I.C.E.) in New York City. She has 25 years of
experience in the Food Service Industry and holds a Grand Diplôme in
Cuisine and Patisserie from the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where she finished
with honors, a Diploma in Restaurant Business from the Le Cordon Bleu,
Australia, a Master of Arts in Gastronomy from the Adelaide University and the
Advanced Certificate from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in London. She
is also a professional member of the Society of Wine Educators.

Starting her career in Palm Beach, Florida, at the Worth Avenue Café, Jane
worked as a fine dining, white gloved, server. She continued to work in the
front of the house in some of the best restaurants in Palm Beach. This led
her to pursue and acquire knowledge of wine and wine and food pairing. The
result, upon completion of her first academic wine course, was a dramatic
increase in her income. That was over 20 years ago and Jane has never
ended her pursuit of wine and oenology education.

While Jane began in the front of the house (aka: the dining room and bar), her
desire to cook professionally was undeniable. The executive chef of
Maurice's in Palm Beach gave her important advice when he told her to find a
chef who would train her on the job. That is exactly what she did. The owner
and the executive chef at The Assembly restaurant in Manalapan, FL, agreed
to give her a shot. She began in the Garde Manger as a pantry cook. She
then moved to The Heart of Palm Beach Hotel and worked as a line cook.
From there she became an executive sous chef at Limburger's in Boca Raton.

It was at this point in her life that she made a dramatic shift from Florida girl to
ski bunny and moved to Vail, CO. In fact her first job, as the Foreman at
Beano's Cabin in Beaver Creek, CO, required that she ski to work every day.
Being an intermediate skier was a job requirement and, in spite of the fact
that she had only skied 6 days in her whole life, she got the job. Not
expecting to be back in the front of the house again, it was one of the most
exciting jobs she had ever imagined and owes a huge debt of gratitude to
Cathy Luc, Linda Welch, Chad Scothorn, Matt Laware, her dear departed
friend Margie and all the cooks who taught her how to ski in the afternoons.
At Beano's Jane was responsible for payroll, training the evening staff in
service and wine sales and Maitre 'd of the dining room during lunch which is
by private membership only.

After Beano's she moved to the Ambrosia Restaurant in Vail village and
worked as a fine dining server and part-time assistant manager. Having no
Sommelier meant taking every opportunity to increase her wine knowledge,
so as to satisfy a diverse international clientele. The Abrosia also gave Jane
the opportunity to learn from the best server and dining room manager she
has ever been blessed to work with, Andre Boesel, who is also a world class
tri-athelete. Although she never cooked at the Ambrosia, the executive chef
Gunther Schmidt is the finest example of a chef she has ever known and still
influences her today as she teaches others.

Note: This page is still being updated.