Record details
-
-
When I came to Jacksonville, Texas in 1983 as a foreign exchange student, I had no idea how much that decision would impact my life and then how my decision to attend Tyler Junior College would shape my future and make it brighter.
I finished high school in the south of France and was living in Africa with my parents (where my father was on a temporary work assignment for an oil company) when I found out that I had been accepted to participate in an exchange program in the United States. I was planning to go to a business college in France and one of their prerequisites was to be fluent in English. I thought that I would spend a year in East Texas, become fluent in English and then come home for college.
There was an old song that asked “how you gonna keep ‘em down on the farm once they’ve seen Paris?” For me, it was the opposite. I fell in love with East Texas and met great friends here. My friends in Jacksonville were going to TJC and I visited the TJC campus with them. After my year as an exchange student, I wound up staying here and attending TJC. An education from a U. S. college is very well respected and has great value in France, so attending school here seemed like a good idea.
I was a typical teenage kid. I didn’t know what I wanted to do and wasn’t very focused on my future, but I met some great teachers at TJC who helped support and guide me. People like Judy Turman, Dr. Bob Peters, Dr. Elaine Graybill and John Hays helped me become a better student and a better person, and they were very patient with me as I learned the English language. They pushed me to work hard, cared about me as a person, and wanted to see me do well. My UT Tyler instructors were also great, and I am so pleased that Tyler has such wonderful college-level offerings.
My years at TJC brought really good friendships and great memories of all the athletics and other student activities. School spirit was something completely new to me. In France, people just go to school to take courses. There are no student activities or athletic events to attend.
At TJC, I had roommates who became good friends and introduced me to a lot of people. We went to games and hung out together. One of my roommates was a tennis player who taught me how to play. Because of him, tennis is probably my favorite pastime.
One day while at a grocery store with my roommates I met three Italians who were going to open a restaurant near the store. I wound up going to work at the restaurant, called Napoli’s, and it did very well. From there, I went to work for the Petroleum Club, Willow Brook Country Club and then to Giuseppe’s. At the same time, I was finishing my courses at TJC, improving my English and learning a lot about the restaurant business.
I transferred to UT Tyler and finished my bachelor’s degree in business there in 1989. I was very fortunate to have the chance to work with very good chefs and very good restaurateurs, too. I learned quite a lot from them. In 1995, I bought the restaurant that bears my name today from one of those great restaurateurs, Giuseppe Cassini.
We have operated as Bernard’s Mediterranean Restaurant for 14 years. It is a labor of love and I have made many friends. I still see some of my college friends and even my former instructors at the restaurant. In fact I’m especially delighted when they and my many friends, family and acquaintances come to my restaurant because all of them are the reason I am in Tyler today. Having those teachers and friends and the work experiences I have enjoyed really made it possible for me to be a successful business person.
Although we’re no longer married, I also met my wife at TJC. She and I are the parents of two wonderful daughters whom I hope will also one day go to TJC.
I travel back to France at least once a year but it’s as a tourist. I love Tyler and all of East Texas, and I’m proud to call this home. I think that to truly appreciate what we have in the U.S., you (or all of y’all!) have to travel and live elsewhere. And like that person that no longer wanted to stay down on the farm, once I saw what Tyler had to offer, they couldn’t keep me in France any longer. I have watched Tyler grow during these past two decades and I am proud of all that it has to offer, which includes excellent opportunities in higher education, terrific people and great restaurants!
- Biography
- Bernard Gautier is owner and operator of Bernard Mediterranean Restaurant in Tyler, routinely acclaimed as one of the finest dining experiences in East Texas. He has been active with the Tyler Restaurant Association, is a member of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and is an avid tennis player.
