What's better than having one of the city's best chefs cook a meal for you? Two of the city's best chefs cooking together.

Next week, chef and owner Michel Jacob is holding three remarkable evenings at Le Crocodile. To celebrate his French restaurant's 30th anniversary, he's bringing back three alumni who he mentored over the years. Each has gone on to achieve great success in his own right: David Hawksworth, Ned Bell, and Rob Feenie.

Each celebrated chef will cook with Jacob on different nights: Hawksworth on Tuesday (November 4), Bell on Wednesday (November 5), and Feenie on Thursday (November 6).  

Hawksworth, of course, is now the chef/owner of Hawksworth Restaurant. Bell is the executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver and YEW Seafood + Bar (and he just cycled across Canada in support of sustainable seafood), while Feenie is the man behind the wildly popular menu at Cactus Club Cafe.

All three speak highly of Jacob and his influence on their careers. This year, in the Georgia Straight's Golden Plates best restaurant issue, Feenie explained how pivotal Jacob was in shaping Feenie's future.

“When I started working for Michel, I think I was 26 or 27, and I had been cooking since I was 19. I thought I knew everything,” Feenie told the Straight. “Then I started working for Michel, and he soon taught me that, ‘No, wait a minute, young boy. Let me teach you a few things.’ ”

Feenie went on to explain how he decided that perhaps cooking wasn’t for him after all, so he quit not only Le Crocodile but his culinary career entirely and started looking into becoming a firefighter like his father. 

Then Jacob intervened, and the rest is Vancouver culinary history.

Next week's special dinners each feature a five-course tasting menu, priced at $130 per person (plus tax and gratuity). To reserve tickets, call the restaurant at 604-669-4298.