Octavio Alcantar
Head BakerAs head baker for Thomas Keller’s original Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, Calif., Octavio Alcantar oversees a team of chefs and is responsible for the bread production, not only for the bakery and its wholesale accounts but also for The French Laundry, Bouchon and Ad Hoc.
Octavio began his career with Chef Keller in 1994, shortly after The French Laundry opened. At the three-star Michelin restaurant, he started as a dishwasher and later progressed to the savory commis team, working alongside notable alumni, including Grant Achatz, Stephen Durfee and Mark Hopper. Then, he was recruited to the pastry team, where he moved from commis to chef de partie to pastry sous chef.
He left The French Laundry in 2005 to open El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma and serve as the restaurant’s pastry chef. Four years later, Octavio was appointed the pastry chef at Barn Diva in Healdsburg.
He returned to Yountville in 2010 to be the pastry sous chef at Bouchon Bakery, overseeing the wholesale production before being promoted to assistant head baker and, most recently, head baker.
Octavio attended the Culinary Institute of America – Greystone in Saint Helena, Calif., completing the course Foundations of the Kitchen.
Nicholas Bonamico
Pastry ChefAs pastry chef, Nicholas Bonamico leads the pastry team and oversees the pastry production for Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, California.
Nicholas joins the pastry team in Yountville, after spending the past ten years with Bouchon Bakery & Café at Time Warner Center, where his career began in 2006. There, Nicholas quickly rose from chef de partie to pastry chef.
He first developed his lasting appreciation for French pastry and service while working under renowned the chef Laurent Richard at La Caravelle, after graduating from the French Culinary Institute in 2001. Nicholas continues to be inspired by his family, particularly by his father, who gave him both a love for sweets and a respect for food, matched only by a commitment to cleanliness and honoring tradition.
A brief hiatus from cooking afforded him the time to earn an undergraduate degree in history with a minor in Classics from The City College of New York and a graduate degree in theology from Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
Alex Laos
General ManagerAs General Manager at Bouchon, Alex Laos oversees the day-to-day operations at the Yountville bistro, working in concert with Chef de Cuisine Ryan King. A Miami native, Alex was first drawn to restaurants while working part-time as a college student in New Orleans. Enchanted by the vibrancy of the food and beverage community, he moved home to Miami to pursue hospitality as a career. There, he worked for chef and restauranteur Michael Schwartz, where over the course of five years he held positions at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink and Harry’s Pizzeria in addition to serving as the opening captain at Cypress Room.
Next, he joined the food and beverage team responsible for opening Chef Tom Colicchio’s Crafted Hospitality concepts in 1 Hotel South Beach. After two years, with the encouragement of a colleague and former French Laundry employee, Alex moved to the Bay Area. In January 2018, he joined the Bouchon team in Yountville as Dining Room Manager. Building on his leadership skills and charismatic approach to the guest experience, Alex was promoted to Assistant General Manager in January 2020 and assumed his current role in 2021.
