Who is this young celebrity chef known as one of “The Best New Chefs” in American by Food and Wine magazine, and whose restaurant Atera has two Michelin stars?
Although relatively young (he was born in 1980 in Norfolk, Nebraska), he already has the resume of a culinary veteran.
Graduating with high honors from Portland, Oregon’s Western Culinary Institute in 2001, and before he hit the global stage (including a month at chef Rene Redzepi’s Noma) he commanded numerous kitchens up and down the west coast.
In 2006, he became the chef de cuisine at L’Auberge in Del Mar, California, working alongside with James Beard award-winning chef Paul McCabe. He then worked for chefs Phillippe Boulot and Francis Perrot in Portland and San Diego.
Insatiably curious about new food and cooking techniques, he traveled to Spain in 2007 as a member of an exclusive group of 15 chefs from around the world chosen for the ICEX program. He also participated in a study program with legendary chefs Ferran Adria, Andoni Luis Aduriz, and Juan Mari Arzak. During his time in Spain, he spent 18 months as part of the culinary team at Aduriz’s Mugaritz.
Returning to the US, he transitioned his passion into a commitment to locally grown and foraged ingredients, earning him a spot on Food & Wine’s 2010 Best New Chefs list and a 2010 nomination of Rising Star Chef from the James Beard Foundation.
Most recently, he opened Atera in New York City, an 18-seat restaurant where the menu combines the chef’s sophisticated technique and Spanish revelations.
Fascinated with sculpture and unafraid of prettiness, he is his own pastry chef and many of his desserts are spectacular. In late spring, there are cookies mimicking oak leaves with spindly breadstick stems; July brrings a white rose made of frozen rose water. It glows as if there is LED encased in it.
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Last week’s question: What is the name of the Renzo Piano-designed building adjacent to the London Bridge Tower?
Answer: The Shard
Winner: Juan Emmanuel Ventura of Plaridel , Bulacan