Bertrand CharlesBertrand Charles has been named Chef de Cuisine of the RitzCoffier at the Palace Hotel, part of the Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne. He brings valuable experience working with some of France's most celebrated Michelin-starred chefs and at leading luxury hotels in France, Morocco, Barbados and the Philippines. Chef Charles will be responsible for the cuisine at the Palace's hotel's French restaurant, RitzCoffier. A CHF550 million luxury resort that encompasses 383 rooms in two 5* hotels, one 4* and a 3* inn, 67 residences, 12 restaurants, lounges and bars, the Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne will have a 107,000 square-foot spa, meeting space for 800 people, several museums, a nine-hole golf course and three championship tennis courts. A wellness center will feature facilities for medical check-ups, physical therapy, post-operative convalescence and wellness programs. Chef Charles has cooked in the kitchens of two-starred Michelin restaurants as Chef de Cuisine under Chef Jean Francois Piège and Chef Jean Pierre Vigato. Prior to joining Switzerland's newest luxury resort, he was Chef de Cuisine at The Peninsula Manila's award-winning French restaurant, Old Manila directing a brigade of nine chefs and working under Executive Chef Mike Wehrle. Now Culinary Director for the Bürgenstock Hotels & Resort Lake Lucerne, Chef Wehrle tapped Chef Charles to join him. This May, Chef Charles was inducted into the exclusive Association Les Disciples d'Escoffier, a fraternity of chefs who want to keep Auguste Escoffier's spirit, philosophy and cuisine alive. In 2014, he was tapped to be Chef de Cuisine at the renowned Sandy Lane in Barbados at L'Acajou, its classical French restaurant directing a team of 12 chefs. The restaurant was named one of the island's top five restaurants by TripAdvisor. In 2005, Chef Charles joined the Hotel de Crillon as Second commis to Chef de Partie at Les Ambassadeurs and L'Obelisque under the two-star Michelin chef, Jean François Piège. Two years later, he was named Sous Chef at Jean Pierre Vigato's two-star Michelin restaurant Apicius. In 2008, as Chef de Cuisine, he opened Jean Pierre Vigato's restaurant at the Anahita Golf & Spa Resort in Mauritius. In 2011, he became Chef de Cuisine at the fabled La Mamounia in Marrakech where he directed a team of 13 chefs at Restaurant Le Français by Jean Pierre Vigato. From Terville in eastern France, Chef Charles studied hospitality for three years before beginning his first position in a Michelin-starred kitchen. He speaks English as well as his native French.