Chef Serge at Café De Paris, Birmingham

Chef Jean Evens Estinfort may as well have been born in the kitchen. As a student he attended René Auffrey culinary high school in Paris, affirming his career ambitions early in life. After graduation he never looked back, pan-searing his diploma to taste, then honing his culinary acumen on the job, and eventually opening his own Parisian restaurant in 2002. In 1996, chef Serge Pambo traveled to France to matriculate at Domaine du Gré culinary school, going on to cook for various French restaurants. In 2006, this duo of chefs packed their bags with recipe books and stuffed their hats with rosemary before embarking to bring authentic French cooking abroad.

And so Café de Paris was born, its walls peppered with reminders of France, and its square linen-clad tables frequently topped with seasonal entrees such as pan-seared tilapia and ham-and-cheese crepes. In conjunction with local schools, the chefs invite French classes to stop by to taste the cuisine that correlates to the language they're learning, which is more convenient than inviting a French meal to live in their homes for a semester.