Laurent Géroli, Executive Chef

Laurent Géroli's talent in the kitchen can be traced back to his family's roots. His parents fell in love after a chance meeting in his grandmother's bakery and he grew up around the fantastic flavors that were created in his family's kitchen. Géroli describes his mother as a someone "who would try just about anything in the kitchen," a trait that inspired him to start cooking. Now with over 20 years of culinary experience, Géroli thrives by celebrating the cuisine he showcases at the award-winning Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY.

"I love the diversity that cooking can provide," said Géroli. "There are so many different flavors from around the world with which to experiment, from Caribbean to French to Asian. Each dish can be like an exotic vacation."

Géroli was born and raised in Montreal, but his culinary career has taken him all over the U.S. and the Caribbean. He received his first taste of professional cooking when he was courted to work in his uncle's catering business while still in high school. Géroli later accepted a job at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel in Montreal.

With the appreciation for his talent growing in the restaurant world, his career allowed him to travel and work on sandy shores at various Club Med locations in the Caribbean and Mexico. Then the Ritz-Carlton took notice of the young chef. He worked in Ritz-Carlton hotels from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, to Phoenix, Arizona to Montreal.

At The Brown Hotel, Géroli believes in implementing simple, clean and beautiful cuisine. He works with the area's purveyors of the freshest ingredients - produce, meats, and fish - in order to produce dishes of the finest quality for guests at The Brown Hotel.