BIOGRAPHIES
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Jesse LeClair, chef, Cornerstone Pub & Kitchen, 2012 - 2013
Stowe Food & Wine Classic, summer 2013
written by CHRISTINE PENNEY
Stowe Food & Wine Classic, summer 2013
written by CHRISTINE PENNEY
Chef Jesse LeClair helms the kitchen of the recently opened and highly successful Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen in Barre, Vermont. His dishes of classic American fare with flair – subtle inspirations of the deep South, Asian flavor profiles, or traditional fine French cuisine peek through his every dish – have afforded the restaurant wide recognition and acclaimed reception since opening in November 2012.
A 2002 graduate of the New England Culinary Institute, LeClair received extensive culinary training in Atlanta, Georgia under Chef Bruno Menard at the five-star Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. He later shared his culinary expertise as the sous chef at such four- and five-star hotels as the JW Marriot and Four Seasons, and gained valuable experience in restaurant and menu development as he helped open the successful Book House Pub in downtown Atlanta.
His hometown of Barre has welcomed him back with open arms, where Jesse’s creativity at the Cornerstone has earned him state-wide accolades, including glowing reports in Burlington’s Seven Days and the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, a lengthy piece on WCAX’s “The :30” with Alice Levitt of “Alice Eats,” and a “New England Cooks” full episode feature with Tony Campos. His food contributions led the Cornerstone Pub and Kitchen to win the Vermont Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of Vermont 2013 restaurant showcase, and to be awarded Best New Business of 2013 by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. As Barre works to revitalize its downtown, this rising chef and proud Vermonter seeks to refresh his friends and rebuild his community with fun, flavorful food that gives his hometown a taste of fame by satisfying its appetite for progress.
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Christine Penney, actor, website feature, 2015
written by CHRISTINE PENNEY
written by CHRISTINE PENNEY
An actor, voice actor, and educator, Christine Penney sleeps in NYC and pines for the trees and hills of Vermont. Her diverse arts and education career has proffered all kinds of experiences, from recently voicing a documentary for Connecticut Public Television (Water Works) to wrapping production on the short fantasy film Joan in Owl Land (M. Castaneda, director).
She's loved playing onstage throughout Vermont and beyond (favorites: Maria Rainer, The Sound of Music; Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun), and she equally adores roles out of the limelight, like directing (Missisquoi High School, Quarry Works Theatre, etc.), accompanying, teaching English, drama, and music, or voicing commercials (Shadow Productions - Pandora, New England radio).
Christine believes in the power of a well-told story to change lives for the better, having been greatly influenced by the mastery and effectiveness of allegory through C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia as a child. As a result, storytelling is her heart's desire - and she believes that everybody has a story worth sharing. Seeing others grow from her work gives her utmost fulfillment. Whether emoting onstage, coaching teen-aged actors, teaching in a classroom, or playing the piano at church services, her dreams of helping others through self expression are actively fulfilled thanks to those who glean something from her work.
Miss Penney actively appreciates the work of C.S. Lewis, but likewise loves climbing trees and mountains, scrambling over rocks, meeting and making friends, drinking normal coffee and enjoying dark chocolate, watching children genuinely marvel at the mundane things of adult life, sharing her excessive energy and child-like excitement at new things, seeking to understand things arcane and known of psychology, science, and history, reveling in others' honest musicality, and trying to find some of her own while pounding the piano keys alone and for friends.
She's loved playing onstage throughout Vermont and beyond (favorites: Maria Rainer, The Sound of Music; Annie Oakley, Annie Get Your Gun), and she equally adores roles out of the limelight, like directing (Missisquoi High School, Quarry Works Theatre, etc.), accompanying, teaching English, drama, and music, or voicing commercials (Shadow Productions - Pandora, New England radio).
Christine believes in the power of a well-told story to change lives for the better, having been greatly influenced by the mastery and effectiveness of allegory through C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia as a child. As a result, storytelling is her heart's desire - and she believes that everybody has a story worth sharing. Seeing others grow from her work gives her utmost fulfillment. Whether emoting onstage, coaching teen-aged actors, teaching in a classroom, or playing the piano at church services, her dreams of helping others through self expression are actively fulfilled thanks to those who glean something from her work.
Miss Penney actively appreciates the work of C.S. Lewis, but likewise loves climbing trees and mountains, scrambling over rocks, meeting and making friends, drinking normal coffee and enjoying dark chocolate, watching children genuinely marvel at the mundane things of adult life, sharing her excessive energy and child-like excitement at new things, seeking to understand things arcane and known of psychology, science, and history, reveling in others' honest musicality, and trying to find some of her own while pounding the piano keys alone and for friends.
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