Chef James Drohman began working in kitchens at the age of fifteen. He continued working as a cook during his undergraduate and graduate studies in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Washington. In 1989, after a five-year stint at Boeing Commercial Airplane Company, he decided that cooking was his real passion and moved to Paris to study the cuisine. Chef Drohman attended L’Ecole Superior du Cuisine Jean Ferrandi, and passed the examinations leading to his Certificate d’Aptitude Professionnelle. During his time in Paris, he worked at several restaurants, including Le Boudin Sauvage and Michelin rated Le Coq de la Maison Blanche. After returning to the United States in 1991, he spent a year as the kitchen manager at Market Place Caterers. In 1992, he joined the staff at Seattle’s Campagne Restaurant. Over the next several years he worked nearly every position in the Campagne kitchen, including line cook, Pastry Chef, and Sous-Chef. In 1997, he was named Executive Chef of both Campagne Restaurant and Café Campagne. He continued in this capacity until February of 2000. In August 2000, Chef Drohman and business partner Joanne Herron opened Restaurant Le Pichet. From the beginning, Le Pichet was met with very positive press and reviews. Favorable reviews in the Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly and The Stranger in October of 2000 and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in April of 2001 helped give a strong start. National press followed, including articles in Food and Wine Magazine, Decanter Magazine, Gourmet Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. In May of 2001, users of CitySearch.com chose Le Pichet as the Best French Restaurant in Seattle. In April 2007, readers of Seattle Magazine also selected Le Pichet as Best French Restaurant in Seattle. In June 2007, Drohman and Herron opened their second collaboration, Café Presse in Seattle’s South Capital Hill neighborhood.

Participants will work together with this chef to create: Crevettes en piperade et ses tartines au fromage frais, au jambon Serrano et a l'ail (shrimp simmered with a Basque-style sweet pepper compote, served with grilled country bread topped with Serrano ham, garlic and herbed fresh cheese)

Wine Notes: Jim's dish will be paired with Martedi Winery Riesling