A pro behind the stove as well as in front of the oven, Aqua Executive Pastry Chef Lionel Walter knows the food business well. As a child, a love for sweets kept Walter busy baking traditional Alsatian specialties with his mother in his native Strasbourg. Following four years of education, Walter began his career as a cook at age 20; a trade that in France encompasses nearly every duty in the kitchen. Switching roles quickly -- the front of the house, in pastry, and as a line cook – became a skill that would prove useful in his professional future.

Capable to prepare anything from meat to sweet when he left Alsace for a position as a chef de partie at La Brochette in Stockholm, savory dishes soon took center stage in his culinary repertoire. After stints at restaurants C’est Si Bon and La Colline Verte in Connecticut, followed by Gerard Besson and L’Epi Dupin in Paris, Walter joined San Francisco’s La Folie. Shortly thereafter, Walter seized the opportunity to return to his artistic, precise side, and took over in pastry after the restaurant’s pastry chef left.

Walter joined Kokkari Estiatorio as a pastry chef in 2000, but soon added the role of a chef back to his duties. Later that year, he joined forces with George Chen of GQC Holdings Inc. as Consulting Chef de Cuisine and Pastry Chef to open the restaurant Qi and Water Bar at San Francisco International Airport. He continued in this direction with the Real Restaurant Group, working as Chef de Cuisine and Pastry Chef to open Beaucoup, followed by work as Chef de Cuisine at Alfred Schilling.

In 2003, Walter joined Aqua as Executive Pastry Chef, where he develops and implements Aqua’s dessert menu, as well as consulting for Aqua’s restaurants. Known for his intricate creations of innovative, seasonal ingredients, Walter provides an elegant, imaginative flourish to the end of any dining experience at Aqua.