Chef's Story

Renowned for his culinary skills and his impeccable standards, Thomas Keller has established a collection of restaurants that set a new paradigm within the hospitality industry. In 1994, he opened The French Laundry in Yountville, a wine country landmark that has been widely hailed as the finest restaurant in the world. He followed that ten years later with Per Se, which brought the chef’s distinctive style to Manhattan. Today, both restaurants enjoy 3-star Michelin ratings, making Keller the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious dining guide. casual dining restaurants include Bouchon (Beverly Hills, Yountville, Las Vegas), Bar Bouchon (Beverly Hills) Bouchon Bakery (Yountville, Las Vegas, NYC), and Ad Hoc (Yountville). This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. Image credit to Deborah Jones “Passion is not something I look for in a person…what I look for is desire. Desire is something that is always there, even when the passion subsides.” [12:00]

On this week’s episode of Chef’s Story, Dorothy interviews Michael Tusk in California. Michael tells us about the things in his childhood that inspired him to get into the food world and become a chef. Later, he describes what it was like to open Quince in San Francisco. Tune in to hear the full story! This program has been sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. Today’s music provided by The Hollows. Image from Quince “I think that I always kind of knew that I was going to go work into a professional kitchen.” [8:30] Michael Tusk on Chef’s StorySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Chef’s Story, we hear the second half of Dorothy’s interview with chef Daniel Patterson, owner of Coi and author of Coi: Stories and Recipes. In this episode, Daniel talks about his passion for opening restaurants and working through the obstacles of maintaining a warm, intimate environment within them. This program has been sponsored by Heritage Foods USA. Image from KQED “I wanted that sense of warmth [in Coi], as if people were coming to my house.” [6:30] “I think we have a culinary language here that’s our own, that’s distinctive.” [15:00] “The fact is that there are never enough hours in the day for me to do what I want to do.” [21:30] —Daniel Patterson on Chef’s StorySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on Chef’s Story, host Dorothy Cann Hamilton travels to San Francisco to interview chef Daniel Patterson about his restaurant: Coi, and his new book: Coi: Stories and Recipes. Dorothy and Daniel got into such an interesting conversation that we had to split it up into two segments! So stay tuned for next week’s continuation of this thrilling episode. This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. Image from KQED “My grandmother had this incredibly ability to show emotion through food.” [13:50] “I was used to people who had to work for a living, and that’s what I liked. Being in a professional kitchen is very working class.” [20:50] “In order to grow you need to risk, and in order to risk you need to fail.” [36:00] —Daniel Patterson on Chef’s StorySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Joel Viehland is combining Southern flavors with Nordic precision at Community Table in Washington, CT. Born in Chicago and raised in Milwaukee, Joel cut his teeth in a number of kitchens before making is way to Gramercy Tavern. Tune into this edition of Chef’s Story to hear why Joel was fired from Gramercy Tavern, and how the experience motivated his desire to work in small kitchens and forge his career as a chef. Hear how Joel learned to love Southern and Nordic food through his work in New Orleans and the esteemed Noma. Joel dives into the connection between memory and flavor; find out why authenticity in the kitchen can be tied to childhood food revelations. Don’t miss this week’s edition of Chef’s Story with Joel Viehland! Thanks to our sponsor, Cain Vineyard & Winery. photo via Connecticut Magazine “When you first move to New York when you’re young, you don’t really know where you are. It’s going to take at least two years to really figure out who you are.” [20:00] “A lot of chefs don’t get the

In this episode of Chef’s Story, host Dorothy Cann Hamilton asks French chef Alain Sailhac, Executive Vice President and Dean Emeritus at The International Culinary Center, about the food scarcity problem throughout his remarkable upbringing in southwest France during World War II. After the break, Alain tells us some tales about a caviar mountain, a coffee overdose, and the times he went to jail for over-salting. Finally, he talks about his time at Le Cirque. This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. “No, [our lack of food] didn’t make me angry, because it was the situation, you cannot do anything.” [10:30] —Alain Sailhac on Chef’s StorySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seven months after opening Trummer’s on Main, Clayton Miller received a call from Food & Wine notifying him that he was nominated for Best New Chef. It wasn’t a short and easy road for Clay. This week on Chef’s Story, Dorothy Cann Hamilton sits down with Clay to discuss his path to chef fame and his adventures along the way. Tune in to hear Clay talk about his time in culinary school, and why he never had a doubt that he was meant to work in restaurants. Learn more about the arduous trials of a culinary school graduate, and how Clay learned to deal with long hours and low wages. Later, Clay recounts his time working under Guetner Seeger, Floyd Cardoz, and Daniel Boulud, and how those experiences help him develop his own cooking and management styles. How did Clay learn Southern cooking after so much training in French cuisine? Hear the story behind Clay’s first restaurant, Trummer’s on Main, and why he left to open Yardbird Southern Table & Bar in South Beach, Miami. This program has been brought to y

Joshua Skenes is the Executive Chef, and Co-Owner of two-Michelin-star Saison in San Francisco’s Mission District. At Saison, Skenes takes a holistic approach to cooking by crafting food that allows diners to experience the natural sensibility of each ingredient’s origin, and layering flavors to bring out the fullest expression of their taste through the use of fire. Widely praised for his innovative cooking techniques, Skenes has quickly made a name for himself on the national culinary scene as one of Food + Wine‘s “Best New Chefs of 2011.” Learn where along Joshua’s career path that he discovered his sensitive and pure palette, and how he learned to become the “Joshua Skenes Executive Chef” today. This program has been sponsored by Whole Foods Market. image: hauteliving.com “My first restaurant job was in a Japanese restaurant in my hometown, as a dishwasher. There was something that I liked about getting yourself organized.” [7:30] “You can learn all the fancy things in the world, but if you don’t have

On today’s episode of Chef’s Story, the guest is none other than Bobby Flay – food personality, celebrity chef, and restauranteur. Host Dorothy Cann Hamilton takes us through the beginnings of Flay’s career, from working as a busser, to getting his first start in the kitchen, going to the French Culinary Institute, and eventually becoming the chef and TV personality he is now. Learn what propelled Bobby into the food industry, and how he feels the TV and media industry has influenced his career. Although the media has brought Bobby much success, he explains that he always looks towards his being a chef first, and that his passion for food has only grown tremendously as a result. Tune-in to hear from one of the most popular chef’s in the media today! This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. “I was surrounded by great cooks – and that’s how you learn. That’s how you learn how to cook.” [14:40] “The people in the industry that do know me know exactly what I do everyday. I am a cook first. Always.” [21

This week on Chef’s Story, Charles Phan, owner and executive chef of The Slanted Door in San Francisco, joins host Dorothy Cann Hamilton for part two of a conversation about Charles’ special memories, beliefs, inspirations, and passions of his craft. Part two explores deeper into Charles’ life, and further explains his high standards for both service and ingredients. Charles Phan was born in South Vietnam, but when his homeland fell to the Vietcong, he and his family moved briefly to Guam and then settled in San Francisco. In 1995, Phan opened The Slanted Door, a restaurant that broke the mold of the run-of-the-mill “ethnic” joint. The Slanted Door was an immediate success and has continued to garner praise from restaurant critics across the country. In 2004, Phan won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef: California, and has since then garnered success and popularity from critics and food professionals all over the world. Find out more about the interesting story behind chef Charles Phan on today’s epi

This week on Chef’s Story, Charles Phan, owner and executive chef of The Slanted Door in San Francisco, joins host Dorothy Cann Hamilton for a conversation about Charles’ special memories, beliefs, inspirations, and passions of his craft. Charles Phan was born in South Vietnam, but when his homeland fell to the Vietcong, he and his family moved briefly to Guam and then settled in San Francisco. In 1995, Phan opened The Slanted Door, a restaurant that broke the mold of the run-of-the-mill “ethnic” joint. The Slanted Door was an immediate success and has continued to garner praise from restaurant critics across the country. In 2004, Phan won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef: California, and has since then garnered success and popularity from critics and food professionals all over the world. Find out more about the interesting story behind chef Charles Phan on today’s episode of Chef’s Story! This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. “I went to UC Berkley to study architecture. My first cla

Daniel Humm is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Eleven Madison Park, in New York City. Eleven Madison Park expresses the spirit of grand New York dining, with executive chef Daniel Humm’s masterfully prepared pure, market-driven cuisine. A native of Switzerland, Daniel began his culinary training at the age of 14. He went on to cook at a number of the finest Swiss hotels and restaurants before earning his first Michelin star at the young age of 24, as the executive chef at Gasthaus zum Gupf in the Swiss Alps. In 2003, Daniel moved to the United States and became the executive chef at Campton Place in San Francisco, receiving four stars from the San Francisco Chronicle. Three years later, Chef Daniel moved to New York to become the executive chef at Eleven Madison Park, where, in 2008 he was named Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux. Over the course of Chef Daniel’s tenure, he and the restaurant have received numerous accolades including four stars from the New York Times, six James Beard Foundation Awards (in

Shaun Hergatt is the executive chef of Juni, a boutique restaurant which celebrates the height of the season. An intimate affair between the guest and Chef Hergatt, the 50-seat restaurant offers an evolving menu that showcases the bounty of the seasons and ingredients when they are at their freshest and finest. Each element of the unique dining experience is Chef Shaun’s creation, from the restaurant design and tablescape to the composition and presentation of his distinctive dishes. Growing up in a culinary-oriented family in Cairns, Australia, Chef Hergatt was enamored with cooking from a young age. He was exposed to a unique combination of impassioned and professional cooking by way of his Scandinavian grandmother and his father, a professional chef. At 17, the ever-ambitious Hergatt, who has always felt that cooking was “in his blood,” pursued a four-year apprenticeship at Crystal Twig, a fine dining restaurant in Cairns where he was trained in classic French cooking. In 1997, at the age of 23, he became

Growing up in Rhode Island, Chris Cosentino spent his time clamming, commercial fishing, and cranking the pasta machine in his great-grandmother’s kitchen. He was raised on a cuisine particular to parts of New England where Atlantic seafood, Yankee fare and classic Italian cooking fuse into one colorful gastronomy. Creating good food was a family tradition, as Cosentino’s maternal ancestors, the Eastons, were the founders of Newport’s beloved Easton’s Sausage Company. Today, as executive chef of San Francisco’s Incanto, where he cooks in an earthy rustic Italian style, Cosentino is proving that a penchant for meats may just be hereditary. Cured, raw or roasted; traditional cut or offal, meat is his muse. Yet this meat-loving chef does not ignore produce. California is a giant garden, he says, and indeed, he can be spotted at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza farmers market every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Cosentino’s formal education took place at Johnson and Wales. Upon graduation, he worked at Mark Miller’s

This week on Chef’s Story, host Dorothy Cann Hamilton is in the San Francisco Bay Area to speak with Gary Danko, executive chef his own personal restaurant, Gary Danko, located in Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco. Born and raised in the small town of Massena in upstate New York, he credits his parents for his strong work ethic in the kitchen. Learning the craft of cooking from his mother, Danko began his foray into food at The Village Eatery, a local eatery, at only fourteen years old. Always convinced of his calling, Danko enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After he graduated in 1977, Danko moved to San Francisco and spent the next three years working as a lunch chef at a small bookstore/bistro and as an expediter/waiter at the Waterfront Restaurant in the evening. He enjoyed this opportunity to explore the Bay Area, but eventually returned east to the traditional roots of his evolving style. Moving to Vermont, he became the chef at the highly regarded Tucker Hill Inn, wher

This week on Chef’s Story, Jair Tellez joins host Dorothy Cann Hamilton to talk about his story to becoming a chef at MeroToro, and opening his first restaurant, Laja, located in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California. After trying to study anthropology and law, he made his first jump into cooking when he was 13, at the Tijuana racetrack, where his father told him to go. Afterwards, he started out in the French Culinary Institute, and began an apprenticeship at Daniel. Here his eyes opened when he had to prepare 24 potatoes, and he continued learning through the rigors of a prestigious restaurant. After a brief stint at the Four Seasons in Mexico City, he moved to San Francisco to work with Roland Possot. After realizing he missed his native people, he started Laja, in Baja California. Laja pays homage to the natural richness of Baja California and supports itself with its own orchard and local producers to make a dynamic menu, rigged by what the season allows. With a yearning for opening a new restaurant in Mex

Siblings Matt and Ted grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. When they left to attend colleges in the Northeast, they so missed the foods of their hometown that they founded The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue, a mail-order catalogue for southern pantry staples like stone-ground grits, fig preserves, and, of course, boiled peanuts. When an editor of a travel magazine asked them to write a story about road-tripping their home state in search of great food, they embarked on a second career as food and travel journalists. They currently are contributing editors at Travel + Leisure and frequently write food stories for Bon Appetit, The New York Times, Fine Cooking and Food & Wine, among other publications. Ted lives with his wife, the artist E.V. Day, in Brooklyn, NY; Matt, his wife Gia, and their two sons live in Charleston, SC. On this week’s episode of Chef’s Story, Matt and Ted speak with host Dorothy Cann Hamilton about starting a boiled peanuts business, bringing Southern food to New York City, and t

This week on Chef’s Story, Laurent Tourondel comes into the studio to tell us his story! A native of France, Chef Laurent Tourondel parlayed his love of food at an early age into a four year program at Saint Vincent Ecole de Cuisine in Montlucon, France where he earned a “d’Aptitude Professionnelle de Cuisinier.” After graduating he received his first post in the kitchen as chef to the Admiral in the French Navy. Following this position he worked at several restaurants in France and then traveled to London where he cooked at the famed Gentleman’s Club, Boodle’s. In the years that followed he worked under such notable chefs as: Bruno Tison at Restaurant Beau Geste in Manhattan; Jacques Maximin at Restaurant Ledoyen in France; and Chef de Partie at Restaurant Mercury at the Hotel InterContinental in Moscow. Tourondel then worked at the three-star Michelin Relais & Chateau Troisgros, before taking a post as Executive Chef of C.T., Claude Troisgros’ debut restaurant in New York City. Next came a stint as Exec

On this special episode of Chef’s Story, host Dorothy Cann Hamilton speaks with Dominique Ansel, executive pastry chef of the Dominique Ansel Bakery, and the maker of the world famous Cronut. Speaking about his history working as an apprentice at the age of 16, he explains how he left school and left no room for failure. After finishing his compulsory military service, he moved to Paris to work in the kitchen of Pâtisserie Peltier. Just a year later, Ansel made the move to the legendary bakery Fauchon. He spent seven years there working for Master Pastry Chef Christophe Adam, learning the delicate balance in flavors, textures, and aesthetics necessary to produce the bakery’s unique pastries. He later became responsible for Fauchon’s international expansion, helping set up shops in far-flung locations such as Russia, Egypt, and Kuwait. Next, Dominique rose to fame in New York City, where he served as the Executive Pastry Chef at Daniel under celebrity chef Daniel Boulud. During his six year tenure at Daniel,

This week on Chef’s Story, Dorothy speaks with Brooks Headley, Head Executive Pastry Chef at Del Posto in New York City. Tying together his early passion for music and drumming with food and dessert, he talks with Dorothy about performing as both a musician and a chef, finding his start reading cookbooks, and utilizing his Italian roots as an inspiration in his dishes. In May of 2013, Headley won the prestigious “Outstanding Pastry Chef” from the James Beard Foundation for his work at the New York restaurant, Del Posto. As a recent graduate, he tells Dorothy of his story finding a job as a file clerk after graduation, and ultimately ditching the suit and tie and finding a job at cooking at Galileo da Roberto Donna. Eventually, Headley moved on to work at The Ritz-Carlton and Tosca, and to Los Angeles where he spent time in the kitchen under master bread baker Nancy Silverton at Campanile. Unable to stay away from the East coast, Headley crossed the country again to return to DC, this time to assume a position