About

Jeffrey Daigneau has always been fascinated with kitchen life. "My great uncle ran the bar of a Springfield restaurant. Each time my family and I would visit, I would disappear with him into the kitchen and take it all in." Fast forward to the age of 14, he took his first job at Chez Josef in Agawam as a banquet set up boy. This was not enough to satisfy his culinary curiosity and his ambitious nature earned him the position of cook's assistant. He dedicated himself to learning his craft, working late nights and weekends. During a student spotlight interview for the local paper, he named his dream job as to one day be the owner and Executive Chef of his own restaurant. Little did he know it would become his reality.

Chef Daigneau graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY where he was presented with the Frances L. Roth Outstanding Performance Award. While there, he staged at 27 Standard, the Rainbow Room in New York City, and American Seasons on Nantucket. Upon graduation, he was hired as a front-of-the-house fellow for the 4-star rated Escoffier restaurant on campus, working closely with his kitchen fellow counterpart Angelo Sosa, former Top Chef: Season 7 finalist.

With job offers coming in from all over the country, he chose to stay in New England creating in the kitchens of Eastside Grill in Northampton, MA, Tumble Brook Country Club in Bloomfield, CT, and Max's Tavern at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Along the way, he thought back to his dream and in 2008, he decided it was time. Lattitude was born in West Springfield, MA, just one town away from his hometown of Agawam. "Community has always been important to me. I wanted to share my craft with the community I grew up in, treating them to a new level of the dining experience – the Lattitude experience." With a farm-to-table concept flowing from the pages of his menus by way of grilled beef tenderloin with white sweet potato puree, pan seared scallops in a candied walnut sage cream sauce, and much, much more, Chef Daigneau has brought back the excitement of dining out.

Chef Daigneau is heavily involved with local charities and has contributed his time and talent to organizations such as the March of Dimes, Jimmy Fund, and Rays of Hope. In addition, he has done countless demonstrations for groups, radio, and television.