Andrew Carmellini
Why Because while working in the French style of the restaurant's owner, Daniel Boulud, he has forged a culinary identity all his own.
Born Cleveland, 1971.
Education Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY.
Experience Le Cirque 2000 and Lespinasse in New York City.
First thing prepared Tossed salad with vegetables from his family's backyard garden.
How he got into cooking "I was a very hyperactive kid. My mom says cooking was the only thing that would calm me down."
What he'd be if he weren't a chef A guitarist in a rock band. "I've been playing guitar since I was six."
A request he said no to Grilled skate. "It's difficult to grill skate."
Strangest food eaten Baby loofah (a gourd whose fibrous skeleton is commonly used as a bath sponge) with mushrooms and preserved sea scallops at Ping's Seafood in Queens, in New York City.
Favorite food books "I have a lot of out-of-print reference books on plants, flowers and vegetables."
How he gets to work Bicycle.
Least favorite food Sea urchin.
A frustration The sudden rise in food allergies. "I wonder why that is?"
Favorite wine "The monster reds. I had a 1971 Ridge Montebello recently that was so good it was almost a meal."
Won Best New Chef at: Café Boulud, New York City
- Pork Meat Loaf with Chickpeas
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Smoked-Whitefish Chowder
- Steamed Snapper with Tangy Peanut Sauce
- Spaghetti with Fresh Soppressata
- Banana Pancakes with Orange-Maple Syrup
- Braised Chicken with Peppers
- Creamy Chicken-and-Mushroom Fricassee
- Grilled Shrimp with Mom's Avocado-and-Orange Salad
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