Chris Cosentino facts for kids
Chris Cosentino in 2010
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| Born | Rhode Island |
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| Cooking style | Italian cuisine |
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Current restaurant(s)
Cockscomb
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| Official website | |
| https://www.chefchriscosentino.com/ | |
Chris Cosentino is a well-known American chef and a star of reality television. He won Top Chef Masters and appeared on The Next Iron Chef and Iron Chef America. He is famous for cooking unique dishes using parts of animals that people don't usually eat, called offal.
He used to be the chef-partner at a restaurant called Incanto in San Francisco. Forbes Traveler magazine once called Incanto "perhaps America's most adventurous nose-to-tail restaurant." This means they used almost every part of an animal in their cooking. Incanto closed on March 24, 2014. In December 2014, Chris Cosentino opened a new restaurant called Cockscomb. It focused on new versions of classic San Francisco dishes.
In 2017, he released a cookbook titled Offal Good: Cooking from the Heart, with Guts. He also has a website about offal called "Offal Good."
Contents
Early Life and Learning
Chris Cosentino grew up in Rhode Island. He graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 1994. In 2018, he visited his old university. He gave a cooking show and shared career advice with students.
He also thanked one of his teachers, chef Jacques Pepin. Chris explained that Pepin's cookbooks, La Technique and La Methode, helped him a lot. These books had very detailed steps and pictures. This was helpful because Chris has dyslexia and attention deficit disorder. He said these conditions made it hard for him to read regular textbooks and cookbooks.
Chris was raised in an Italian American family. He once said he didn't like offal when he was a kid. He especially disliked the tripe his Italian grandmother made. But as a chef, he learned to use the "whole-animal ethic." This means using all parts of an animal to avoid waste. He wants people to understand that meat comes from a whole animal. This might make them think more about what they eat. Sometimes, it even encourages them to choose vegetable dishes instead.
Chef's Journey
Chris Cosentino worked at several famous restaurants. These included Mark Miller's Red Sage and Kinkead's in Washington, D.C. He then moved to San Francisco to work at Rubicon. This restaurant was owned by famous people like Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro.
He also worked at Coach House on Martha's Vineyard and Chez Panisse in the Bay Area. Later, he became a consultant for the Aqua restaurant group. With them, he helped open several restaurants. One of these was Nobhill at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Incanto and Boccalone
After 2002, Cosentino became the head chef at Incanto in San Francisco's Noe Valley. Food critics noticed the food quality improved after he joined. Chris and co-owner Mark Pastore created an Italian menu. It used cuts of meat and fish that are often thrown away. In 2007, Incanto held its fourth yearly "Head-to-Tail Dinner."
In 2007, Cosentino opened a salumeria called Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts. A salumeria sells cured meats. This business followed his family's history. His mother's family ran Easton's Sausage Company in Rhode Island from 1860 to 1942. He uses many of their old recipes for Boccalone products.
At Incanto, Chris also started making charcuterie. These are cured meats made in-house. They included mortadella and fennel salume. This product line was like a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program. It focused on providing local products. Chris learned from chef Jean-Louis Palladin to cook for diners and himself, not just for reviews. Palladin also taught him to respect animals that become food.
Television Shows and Challenges
In October 2007, Chris Cosentino was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef. He competed against his friend and former teacher, Traci Des Jardins. In one episode, he was given squab (a type of pigeon). He immediately checked it for offal. The host, Michael Symon, had removed them. Symon joked, "No guts, no glory." Chris was eliminated just before the final round. In November 2007, he appeared on Modern Marvels to show his skill in cooking pork brain.
In August 2009, he and fellow chef Aarón Sánchez started hosting Chefs vs. City on the Food Network. Each week, they visited a different city. They competed against local chefs in food challenges. Chris once ate so many chili peppers that he got severe burns in his digestive system. It took five years for him to heal from this injury.
Chris Cosentino is often seen on the Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate.
Cooking Philosophy and Hobbies
Chris believes that single-varietal extra-virgin olive oils are his secret cooking weapon. These oils have special flavors. He works closely with local farmers' markets. This helps him build strong relationships with food producers. These connections are very important to him. They allow him to be involved in making the meat and other ingredients he uses. He has been especially dedicated to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market.
In his free time, Chris enjoys cycling on mountain-biking trails in Northern California. He rides a one-speed bicycle and takes part in long endurance rides. He also spends time with his wife and young son.
Books and New Restaurants
In 2011, it was announced that Chris Cosentino would help write a comic book with the publishers of Wolverine. He would also be a character in the story. He wrote a cookbook called Beginnings: My Way to Start a Meal, published in May 2012. It has recipes for first courses, mostly vegetable-based. The book also shares his cooking ideas and includes his handwritten notes and sketches. It is organized by seasons.
In March 2012, Cosentino teamed up with Adam Fleischman to open PIGG. This restaurant in Los Angeles celebrated pork dishes from around the world. It was part of UMAMIcatessen, a large dining spot.
On September 26, 2012, Chris Cosentino won season four of Top Chef Masters on Bravo. He won $141,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
On March 5, 2014, Chris and his partner announced they would close Incanto. They planned to open a more casual restaurant called Porcellino in the same spot. However, with the opening of Cockscomb, Porcellino was closed. Cockscomb focused more on classic San Francisco food than Italian dishes. Oysters and shellfish were a big part of its menu.
In 2016, Cosentino announced he would open Jackrabbit in Portland, Oregon. This was his first restaurant outside California.
On October 21, 2020, Chris Cosentino announced that Cockscomb was closing permanently.
Television Appearances
- 2005, Check Please! Bay Area
- 2005, Martha Stewart
- 2007, Iron Chef America
- 2007, The Next Iron Chef
- 2007, Modern Marvels - Episode: The Pig
- 2008, Iron Chef America
- 2008, At The Table With...
- 2009, Chefs vs. City Food Network
- 2009, No Reservations Travel Channel, August 10
- 2009, The Best Thing I Ever Ate Food Network
- 2011, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern Travel Channel, March 1
- 2012, The Layover, San Francisco, Travel Channel, January 9
- 2012, Top Chef Canada-Episode 4, Food Network Canada, April 1
- 2012, Top Chef Masters Season 4, Bravo, July 25
- 2012, Time Machine Chefs, ABC, August 16
See also
- Animal husbandry
- Italian-American cuisine
- Local food
- Locavore
- Sustainable agriculture
- Sustainable food system
