S2 Ep132: That's So Cincinnati: Jean-Robert doesn't let cancer keep him from the kitchen

Jean-Robert de Cavel is never far from a kitchen – whether it's at his restaurant Le Bar a Boeuf or at home with his wife and daughter.

And at 60, he told The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast, not even cancer will stop him. Jean-Robert said he remains in chemotherapy after first being diagnosed in 2018 with leiomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.

“I will never be cured," Jean-Robert said. "I just have to be strong. I keep very positive. My medical team says, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing because it’s working.’ Never, ever give up.”

The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber named Jean-Robert as a Great Living Cincinnatian in the 2021 class. In addition to Le Bar a Boeuf in East Walnut Hills, Jean-Robert owns French Crust Café and Bistro, in Over-the-Rhine by Findlay Market.

Jean-Robert came to Cincinnati in 1993 when he was 32 to work at The Maisonette, the city's only Mobil 5-star-rated restaurant. In the interview, he talked about starting his own fine dining restaurant – Jean-Robert at Pigall's and his subsequent restaurants, which he always started when he was looking for a new challenge.

Asked to pick a favorite, Jean-Robert talked wistfully about Table, which was located at Seventh and Vine streets. Table closed in December 2020 because the owner sold the building.

"You could come on a Monday night and have a casual dinner and come back and dress up on Saturday night and celebrate," Jean-Robert said. "Table is definitely a love affair, and it is sad what happened."

Jean-Robert has said he wants to find a new space for Table, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the process. 

He told "That's So Cincinnati" that he looked at sites to potentially open a new restaurant eight months ago. But he decided not to continue to pursue it partly because of the financial challenges that the pandemic has had on the restaurant industry.

Jean-Robert currently has no immediate plans to open a new restaurant, but said: “Opening a new restaurant is always on my mind.”