Chris Cosentino

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chris Cosentino

Current Restaurant(s)

Chris Cosentino is a chef at Incanto in San Francisco who is noted for his specialty of preparing offal dishes. He was a competitor on The Next Iron Chef, and has appeared on Iron Chef America. He is currently writing a book on offal cookery for release in mid-2008, and maintains an offal-themed website, Offal Good.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Chris Cosentino was raised in Rhode Island, and is a 1994 graduate of Johnson & Wales University.[1] Raised in an Italian community, he has stated that he hated offal as a child, especially the tripe his grandmother prepared.[2] Since becoming a chef himself, however, he has embraced a 'whole animal' ethic, believing that "What I try to do is make people understand a whole-animal ethic. When people realize that this is a whole animal, that there is more than just the skeletal meats, sometimes that makes people step back, and they might not order any meat. They might have a vegetable entrée. Putting a face on what you’re eating sometimes opens your eyes a lot."[3]

[edit] Career

Cosentino worked at Mark Miller’s Red Sage, and later, Kinkead’s, in Washington, D.C.. He then moved to Rubicon in San Francisco, which is owned by Francis Ford Coppola, Robin Williams, and Robert De Niro. He proceeded to work at several prestigious restaurants such as the Coach House in Martha’s Vineyard, and, in the San Francisco area, Chez Panisse, and Belon. He was then hired as a consultant to the Aqua restaurant group. While working with them, he opened several restaurants, including the highly acclaimed Nobhill at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Since 2002, Cosentino has worked at San Francisco's Incanto, in Noe Valley, serving as the executive chef.[4] Reviewers in the area noticed a definite upturn in the food quality at Incanto after Cosentino took over.[5] Working with owner Mark Pastore, he has created a rustic Italian menu that includes all cuts of meat. In 2007 they had their 4th annual "Head to Tail Dinner"[6]

In fall, 2007, he started selling sausage under the name Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts.[7] Starting in October, 2007, he was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef. By the third episode, his cooking style had emerged distinctly enough that, when Michael Symon gave him squab as a secret ingredient, his first action was to check the cavities for offal. It was implied that Symon had removed the innards, and when Cosentino discovered this, Symon quipped, "No guts, no glory."[8] He was the last chef eliminated before the final battle, eliminated in episode 7, 'Lead and Inspire'.

[edit] Television appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Johnson & Wales University: Chris Cosentino '94
  2. ^ Chow Interview: Part Two, First Taste of Offal
  3. ^ Standen, Amy. "Chris Cosentino doesn’t want to eat penis, but if he has to, he will.", Meatpaper, March, 2007. 
  4. ^ Incanto People
  5. ^ Bauer, Michael. "Incanto enchants in Noe Valley: New chef, decor turn Italian spot around. He was honored for his commitment to innovative cooking with unusual ingredients in 2005 by StarChefs.com, who named [http://starchefs.com/chefs/rising_stars/2005/sf/html/bio_c_cosentino.shtml Cosentino a San Francisco Rising Star Chef.]", San Francisco Chronicle, July 11, 2003. 
  6. ^ Turkell, Michael Harlan. "Blood, Sweat, & Tripe", Hungry Magazine, July 31, 2007. 
  7. ^ Kaiser, Emily. "Chris Cosentino: Loud for a Chef, Quiet for a Sausage Maker", Food and Wine Magazine, September 27, 2007. 
  8. ^ Week 3 Challenge: Resourcefulness, Part 2
  9. ^ Episode IA0401, Batali vs. Cosentino, 'Battle Garlic'

[edit] External links