Hugues Boutin

Hugues Boutin is a Programme Director and Head Chef-Instructor with over 30 years of global culinary experience, spanning fine dining establishments and academic instruction. He served as Executive Chef for Club Med across Mexico, Australia, Bahamas, Malaysia, USA, and Cuba for 7 years, worked at Aspen's top-ranked hotel The Little Nell, and trained at Burgundy's 3-star Michelin restaurant La Côte d'Or. For 8+ years, he was a chef instructor at culinary universities in Mexico City, and has trained students in Bulgaria since 2015.

His educational background includes a Superior Studies degree in Culinary Arts from the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie du Québec, Montréal, and a Food Production Management certification from Bali, Indonesia (2005). He has been a ServSafe© Trainer & Proctor since 2005, conducting food safety seminars for groups of 4–150 participants worldwide.

Boutin's expertise focuses on multicultural culinary techniques, with deep specialization in Mexican and Italian cuisines, meat preparation, and pastry arts. He emphasizes authentic, passionate cooking methods as reflected in his motto: “Do it from the heart or do not do it at all!” His fluency in French, Spanish, and English supports his international teaching approach.

As an advisor, he has coached students to multiple gold medals at the Bulgarian National Culinary Cup: in 2022, securing wins in the meat category and Team event; in 2019, guiding two students to gold, including Pastry Chef of the Year with 3 gold medals. He also served as a jury member for Bocuse d'Or Bulgaria in 2017.

Boutin actively leads culinary teams in competitions while integrating food safety protocols from his ServSafe© training. His current work centers on developing Bulgarian students' skills through hands-on coaching in specialized categories like meat and pastry, leveraging decades of multinational hospitality experience.