About Chef John and Dopo Cena

Chef John Perrotta’s love of pastry making began at the age of 17 when he worked part time at various pastry shops in Montreal. He studied at Montreal’s ITHQ (Institute of Hotel and Tourism of Quebec) and then worked full time in the industry and eventually opened Gourmandise Dopo Cena in 1994.

In March 1996, he made a trip to Paris, France to study at Ecole Gastronomique- Bellouet Conseil with Jean Michel Perruchon (M.O.F).

In March 1999, he worked as an apprentice to Philippe Urracca (M.O.F.) in his shop in Toulousse, France.

In 2002, he was involved in the world Pastry Forum in Las Vegas, where he was able to meet and take courses with world renowned chefs. There he established connections and relationships that still remain today.

He has also studied with other world renowned chefs over the years such as Jacquy Pfeiffer, Albert Adria (El Buli) and Fransisco Toreblanca. In addition, he has been involved with Cacao Barry here in Quebec where his technical skills are constantly updated and new connections made in the world of Pastry making.

Finally, Chef John’s main experience and accomplishment comes from owning and running his own business. He opened a small patisserie called Gourmandise Dopo Cena in the Montreal North area back in 1994 and have since built a solid reputation in Montreal and its outlying areas. He closed shop in January 2007 due to personal reasons, but his remarkable accomplishments cannot be disputed.

During those 12 years Dopo Cena went from zero clients to well over 6000 clients on their mailing list, most of whom were regular and repeat clients. All this was accomplished with absolutely zero advertisement except word of mouth. In addition, this success was based solely on the sale of cakes, particularly wedding cakes that had his definitive Dopo Cena signature. Almost one year later clients are still scrambling to find a comparable replacement.