BRANDON — Chef Robert Barral, executive chef/owner of Café Provence in Brandon, has been selected as Chef of the Year by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. The award was bestowed at the Vermont Chamber Hospitality Gala, held at the Mountain Top Inn and Resort on Sept. 10 in Chittenden.
Barral is originally from the Montpelier area in France. He has been the executive chef in some of the finest kitchens in the world, including the Four Seasons in Boston, the New England Culinary Institute and Café Provence, which he opened in 2004.
Barral continues to teach cooking classes every week in the restaurant’s culinary theater. He is a regular contributor to WCAX-TV’s morning news show where he demonstrates great cooking techniques.
He, along with his business partner Line Barral recently received the Brandon Chamber of Commerce President’s Award. 
Other honorees at the gala include Beth Kennett of Liberty Hill Farm, Innkeeper of the Year; Todd Paton of Rock of Ages, Allied Member of the Year; and Jed Davis, Rob Downey, Paul Sayler and Phillip Clayton of The Farmhouse Group, Restaurateurs of the Year.