Introducing Chef MiSol

Chef Mi-Sol Chevallier is one of Haiti's most respected culinary leaders and an icon of local Haitian cuisine. As the director of Atelier des Chefs, she brings over forty years of passion, expertise, and an unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of Haitian chefs.

Born for the Kitchen

Chef Mi-Sol's love affair with cooking began at age six in Gonaïves, where she was born in 1950. While other little girls played with dolls, young Mi-Sol was already working as an assistant to her great-aunt, Madame Ciryus, who was famous throughout the Artibonite region for her delicious guava jellies and jams. People came from all around to buy them.

In 1959, she moved to Port-au-Prince, where she assisted in Saturday cooking classes for future brides. From that moment, her passion for cuisine never left her. As she often says, "If you want to be a chef, go for it and don't look back. It's a profession that offers far more satisfaction than dissatisfaction. However, you must dedicate yourself to it entirely."

A Journey Across Continents

Chef Mi-Sol's culinary journey has taken her across the world. She spent 13 years living and working in Africa (in Mauritania, Togo, Benin, Senegal, and Cameroon), followed by four years in France. Along the way, she trained with some of the world's most renowned chefs, including Escoffier, Alain Ducasse, and Le Nôtre.

She worked in various restaurants, served as a private chef, and collaborated with diplomatic missions, including Haiti's Embassy in Paris and Haiti's Permanent Mission to UNESCO. Each experience enriched her craft and deepened her understanding of global cuisine.

These travels gave her a philosophy that guides her teaching today: "A chef's life means you can't stay in one place. Otherwise you stagnate. You need to change spaces to discover something else, to inspire yourself and create. Being a chef is also about exchange and sharing. Without sharing, you cannot transmit knowledge."

Return to Haiti

Chef Mi-Sol returned to Haiti in 2006 with a mission. She opened several restaurants, including La boîte à lunch (1986), Café de l'Europe, and La Guinguette, the latter built on the ruins of her house destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. It was at La Guinguette in 2014 that she met renowned chef José Andrés. They discussed gastronomy and her vision for the future of Haitian cuisine, and he helped her realize her dream of having the means to transmit her passion and knowledge to Haiti's youth.

In January 2015, Chef Mi-Sol became director of École hôtelière d'Haïti. In 2017, she founded École des Chefs with support from José Andrés' World Central Kitchen. In 2022, she took full ownership, renaming it Atelier des Chefs and continuing her life's work independently.

Leadership & Recognition

In 2016, Chef Mi-Sol was honored by the Haitian Culinary Alliance with a plaque of honor and merit, recognizing her significant contributions to Haitian gastronomy. The ceremony, attended by leading chefs and the Director General of Haiti's Ministry of Tourism, celebrated her accomplishments and influence on the culinary profession.

Chef Mi-Sol is a co-founder of the Haitian Culinary Alliance, created to better represent and promote local cuisine and attract young people to the profession. She helped launch "Gouts et Saveurs Lakay," an event that has been celebrating Haitian cuisine for over six years.

A Teacher with High Standards

In Chef Mi-Sol's classroom, discipline is paramount. She is generous, open, and warm, but she doesn't compromise on standards or accept half-measures. As she tells her students: "I often tell my students they must strive for excellence at all costs. Success gives no gifts. You must work hard. I remind them that entering the kitchen is like entering the priesthood. You become cuisine, you are cuisine. Your prayer is the kitchen. You think about cooking when you wake up and when you go to bed."

Some say she's too demanding, but Chef Mi-Sol is unapologetic: "I want them to become someone when they leave this school. I don't want failures in my class." She boosts her students' confidence, helps them find opportunities, and continues to guide them even after graduation.

A Vision for Haiti

Chef Mi-Sol is passionate about elevating all aspects of Haitian cuisine, from fine dining to street food. She dreams of a day when Haiti won't need foreign chefs to teach cooking or food hygiene, when Haitian chefs are recognized internationally for their excellence and technique.

When asked if she'd consider retiring abroad, her answer is immediate: "I don't leave because I am in love with my country. I love the people of this country, I love the land of this country. What gives me hope is the youth. Every time I meet a young person who speaks coherently, I tell myself, there is still hope for Haiti."

Beyond the kitchen, Chef Mi-Sol enjoys literature (she's a great fan of Émile Zola, Maupassant, Baudelaire, and Gabriel García Márquez), creates Tye-Dye art, tends her vegetable garden, and dreams of learning pottery as her next challenge.

Inspired by culinary pioneers like Anne-Marie Desvarieux, Chef Mi-Sol remains dedicated to achieving real culinary change in Haiti, one student at a time.

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