Chris Viaud

Johnson & Wales University sits close to the center of Chris Viaud’s formation, but the more useful frame is the one the kitchen gives: training, repetition, and the habit of moving forward without losing your bearings. That discipline carried him from school into Boston, Massachusetts, where he worked as Sous Chef at Deuxave, a role that marked a clear step into the pace and precision required of a serious line. The career that followed is built through ownership as much as service.

Since 2019, Chris Viaud has been owner and chef of Greenleaf; he is also owner and chef of Ansanm and owner and chef of Culture. In 2023, he took on the role of Executive Chef at The Lake Estate, extending a portfolio that reflects steady accumulation rather than a single abrupt turn.

He is Executive Chef at The Lake Estate in Tilton and Executive Chef of The Dining Room at The Lake Estate. Those titles point to the same core work: directing service, holding standards, and keeping the kitchen’s output aligned with the room it serves.

Chris's signature dishes include Chris Viaud's $10K Grilled Cheese Sandwich Dish. It reads as a familiar format handled with enough confidence to make it feel like a deliberate statement, not a novelty for its own sake.

Chris's honors include James Beard Award nominee (two-time).