Beaujolais Bistro: Our Chef

Chef/Owner Bill Gilbert came to Reno approximately 20 years ago from Jay, Maine, a small town 60 miles west of Portland, Maine. Bill’s grandfather was from Quebec, Canada. There were many French Canadians that migrated to Maine. French was spoken in Bill’s house during his early years and he considers his heritage to be French. These early years provided a back drop to his interest in pursuing French cooking.

Bill’s first restaurant experience was in a restaurant named La Chèminee in Lake Tahoe, CA. He worked his way from busboy at a local hotel to a cook in the kitchen of La Chèminee as a quick study to his mentor Jean Pierre DÓignon (currently owner of Le Bistro at Lake Tahoe, Nevada). After 10 years at Lake Tahoe, Bill moved to Reno where he worked at La Table Francaise a well known French restaurant in Reno. There he continued his study of French cooking with Yves Pimperel.

Bill helped in opening three local restaurants, Marie’s Petite Bistro, Metro Grill and Galena Forest Restaurant before having the opportunity to go into partnership with his wife, Trisha, and in-laws, Gerald and Teresa Jackson, to open up Beaujolais Bistro in November of 2002.

At Beaujolais Bistro, Bill has had been able to bring his lifelong dream to reality. He designs the menu from his heart, meaning that all the items on the menu are from classic French recipes and are meant to invite, comfort, and delight the palate.