Former Will's Fargo
Chef Transforms
Himself into
Gourmet Grocer
B Y L A R R Y H A R L A N D
I
t seemed curious when French-born chef
Jerome Viel left a high-profile restaurant job
to run a rural grocery store.
No more cooking, no more creativity. Viel
would spend his days stacking canned corn and
pricing cereal.
Not likely.
Viel didn't just want to put his name on
Carmel Valley Market, he wanted to put his
stamp on it. He envisioned customers chatting
up the butcher, engaging neighbors or bringing
home a fresh-roasted chicken.
"That was the plan from the beginning," says
Viel, who left Will's Fargo in 2015. "I've been
shopping here for years. It made sense."
Viel began cooking at 15, traveling Europe to
work with high-profile chefs, before landing in
Carmel Valley, where he met his wife Jessica. Life
as a chef consumed Viel, and the market
allowed him to be a better father and keep his
chef 's coat.
Viel installed a salad bar, and sources special-
ty products like organic produce and dry-aged
beef. He's building a new kitchen, and his goal is
to attract customers who now shop at Whole
Foods.
"They come in for a quar t of milk and 20
minutes later they're having coffee and hanging
out," Viel says. "It's just what I imagined."
Jerome's Carmel Valley Market is located at 2
Chambers Lane, Carmel Valley. 831/659-2472 or
www.jeromescarmelvalleymarket.com.
SHORTCUTS
NEIGHBORS
Chef Jerome Viel, shown with wife Jessica, has transformed Carmel Valley Market
with a salad bar, organic produce, dry-aged beef and a new kitchen.
76 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 6
Photo:
Kelli
Uldall
