Chris Cosentino
Encyclopedia
Chris Cosentino is an American
chef noted for his specialty, offal
dishes, now considered haute cuisine
by many, and his eco-consciousness. He is executive chef at Incanto in San Francisco
. He was a competitor on The Next Iron Chef
and has appeared on Iron Chef America
. As of September 2009, he is writing a book on offal cookery, and he maintains an offal-themed website, Offal Good. Forbes Traveler calls Incanto "perhaps America’s most adventurous nose-to-tail restaurant … On offer are lamb’s necks, pig trotters and a five-course nose-to-tail tasting menu perhaps including venison
kidney
s and chocolate
-blood
panna cotta
."
and is a 1994 graduate of Johnson & Wales University
. Raised in an Italian American
community, he has stated that he hated offal
as a child, especially the tripe
his Italian
grandmother prepared. Since becoming a chef himself, however, he has embraced a "whole-animal" ethic. He explains, "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 meat
s, 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."
, Robin Williams
and Robert De Niro
. He went on to work at several prestigious restaurants, such as the Coach House on 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. Reviewers in the area noticed a definite upturn in the food quality at Incanto after Cosentino took over. Working with owner Mark Pastore, he has created a rustic Italian menu that includes all cuts of meat, the whole animal or whole fish
, including what would usually be discarded or used as an ingredient in animal feed. Chitterlings
would be an example of the kind of food he uses, one which is more familiar to the general public than some examples. In 2007, they had their fourth annual "Head-to-Tail Dinner."
In fall, 2007, Chris started selling sausage
under the name Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts. Boccalone is a shop found in the Ferry Building
of San Francisco, California.
This new line was a natural outgrowth from family tradition, because his mother’s family, named Easton, founded Newport’s Easton’s Sausage Company, a company which developed a very devoted clientele. Under Chris’s direction, Incanto has launched a charcuterie
selection, all selections cured in-house, and ranging from mortadella
to fennel
salame, including even a sweetbread
terrine
. There is also a salt-cured pork
liver
with especially intense flavor. This effort is based on the community-supported agriculture
(CSA) concept in which providing locally grown produce is the focus. Chris credits the late chef Jean-Louis Palladin with teaching him never to cook for reviews, but for the diners and for himself. Palladin was an avid hunter and taught Chris to be realistic and respectful about the fate of an animal going from the farmyard or the forest to the dinner plate.
Starting in October, 2007, he was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef
, competing with erstwhile mentor at Rubicon, Traci Des Jardins
, who is still a close friend. 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; when Cosentino discovered this, Symon quipped, "No guts, no glory." He was the last chef eliminated before the final battle, being eliminated in Episode 7, 'Lead and Inspire'. In November 2007, he was featured at the end of a Modern Marvels
pig episode, in which he showed his expertise in cooking pig brain
.
In August, 2009, he and fellow The Next Iron Chef
contestant Aarón Sánchez
began hosting Chefs vs. City
on the Food Network. Each week they travel to different cities, taking on two local chefs in a variety of food-related challenges.
In addition, Cosentino is regularly featured on episodes of the Food Network series, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate".
He considers single-varietal extra-virgin olive oil
s, each having a distinct flavor, his culinary secret weapon. His involvement with local farmers' markets has enabled him to develop close relationships with local food producers, relationships which are very important to him and allow him to be involved in the production and butchering of meat he uses and of other ingredients in his many specialties. He has been especially dedicated to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market.
In his spare time he cycles on some very rugged Northern California mountain biking trails on a one-speed, does endurance rides, and spends time with his wife and young son.
It was announced in 2011 that Cosentino is teaming up with the publishers of Wolverine to write a comic. In addition to helping out with the story, he'll also be featured as a character.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chef noted for his specialty, offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
dishes, now considered haute cuisine
Haute cuisine
Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...
by many, and his eco-consciousness. He is executive chef at Incanto in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He was a competitor on The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
and has appeared on Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
. As of September 2009, he is writing a book on offal cookery, and he maintains an offal-themed website, Offal Good. Forbes Traveler calls Incanto "perhaps America’s most adventurous nose-to-tail restaurant … On offer are lamb’s necks, pig trotters and a five-course nose-to-tail tasting menu perhaps including venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
s and chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
-blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
panna cotta
Panna cotta
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally from the Northern Italian region of Piemonte, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate...
."
Early life
Chris was raised in Rhode IslandRhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
and is a 1994 graduate of Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University is a private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island, USA, is home to JWU's first and largest of four currently operating campuses. Founded as a business school in 1914, by...
. Raised in an Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
community, he has stated that he hated offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
as a child, especially the tripe
Tripe
Tripe is a type of edible offal from the stomachs of various farm animals.-Beef tripe:...
his Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
grandmother prepared. Since becoming a chef himself, however, he has embraced a "whole-animal" ethic. He explains, "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 meat
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
s, sometimes that makes people step back, and they might not order any meat. They might have a vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
entrée
Entrée
An entrée is a dish served before the main course, or between two principal courses of a meal.The disappearance in the early 20th century of a large communal main course such as a roast as a standard part of the meal in the English-speaking world has led to the term being used to describe the main...
. Putting a face
Face
The face is a central sense organ complex, for those animals that have one, normally on the ventral surface of the head, and can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyebrow, eyelashes, eyes, nose, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, philtrum, temple, teeth, skin, and...
on what you’re eating sometimes opens your eyes a lot."
Career
Cosentino worked at Mark Miller’s Red Sage and later at Kinkead’s, in Washington, D.C. He then moved to San Francisco’s Rubicon, which was owned by Francis Ford CoppolaFrancis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
, Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
. He went on to work at several prestigious restaurants, such as the Coach House on 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
MGM Grand Las Vegas
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
, Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
.
Since 2002, Cosentino has worked at San Francisco’s Incanto, in Noe Valley
Noe Valley, San Francisco, California
-Location:Its borders are generally considered to be 22nd Street to the north, Randall Street to the south, Dolores Street to the east, and Grand View Avenue to the west. These borders are understood to be somewhat flexible, particularly by real estate agents...
, serving as the executive chef. Reviewers in the area noticed a definite upturn in the food quality at Incanto after Cosentino took over. Working with owner Mark Pastore, he has created a rustic Italian menu that includes all cuts of meat, the whole animal or whole fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, including what would usually be discarded or used as an ingredient in animal feed. Chitterlings
Chitterlings
Chitterlings are the intestines of a pig, although cattle and other animals' intestines are similarly used, that have been prepared as food. In various countries across the world, such food is prepared and eaten either as part of a daily diet, or at special events, holidays or religious...
would be an example of the kind of food he uses, one which is more familiar to the general public than some examples. In 2007, they had their fourth annual "Head-to-Tail Dinner."
In fall, 2007, Chris started selling sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
under the name Boccalone: Tasty Salted Pig Parts. Boccalone is a shop found in the Ferry Building
Ferry Building
The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. On top of the building is a large clock tower, which can be seen from Market Street, a main thoroughfare of the city...
of San Francisco, California.
This new line was a natural outgrowth from family tradition, because his mother’s family, named Easton, founded Newport’s Easton’s Sausage Company, a company which developed a very devoted clientele. Under Chris’s direction, Incanto has launched a charcuterie
Charcuterie
Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire...
selection, all selections cured in-house, and ranging from mortadella
Mortadella
Mortadella is a large Italian sausage or cold cut made of finely hashed or ground, heat-cured pork sausage, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat . Mortadella is a staple product of Bologna, Italy...
to fennel
Fennel
Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum . It is a member of the family Apiaceae . It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves...
salame, including even a sweetbread
Sweetbread
Sweetbreads or ris are culinary names for the thymus or the pancreas especially of the calf and lamb...
terrine
Terrine (food)
A terrine is a French forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients. Terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature.- See also :* Terrine , the cooking vessel* Pâté* Galantine* Mousseline...
. There is also a salt-cured pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
with especially intense flavor. This effort is based on the community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture
Community-supported agriculture, a form of an alternative food network, is a socio-economic model of agriculture and food distribution. A CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farming operation where the growers and consumers share the risks and benefits of food...
(CSA) concept in which providing locally grown produce is the focus. Chris credits the late chef Jean-Louis Palladin with teaching him never to cook for reviews, but for the diners and for himself. Palladin was an avid hunter and taught Chris to be realistic and respectful about the fate of an animal going from the farmyard or the forest to the dinner plate.
Starting in October, 2007, he was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
, competing with erstwhile mentor at Rubicon, Traci Des Jardins
Traci Des Jardins
Traci Des Jardins is an American chef and restaurateur who co-owns Jardinière, a French influenced California fine-dining restaurant in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California; chef/partner of Public House, a sports pub serving local, sustainable classic pub food near AT&T Park;...
, who is still a close friend. By the third episode, his cooking style had emerged distinctly enough that, when Michael Symon
Michael Symon
Michael D. Symon is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as Iron Chef America, Food Feuds, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate, as well as Cook Like an Iron Chef on the Cooking Channel...
gave him squab
Squab (food)
In culinary terminology, squab is a young domestic pigeon or its meat. The meat is widely described as tasting like dark chicken. The term is probably of Scandinavian origin; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh". It formerly applied to all dove and pigeon species, such as the Wood...
as a secret ingredient, his first action was to check the cavities for offal. It was implied that Symon had removed the innards; when Cosentino discovered this, Symon quipped, "No guts, no glory." He was the last chef eliminated before the final battle, being eliminated in Episode 7, 'Lead and Inspire'. In November 2007, he was featured at the end of a Modern Marvels
Modern Marvels
Modern Marvels is a documentary television series that premiered on January 1, 1995 on History. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in today's society....
pig episode, in which he showed his expertise in cooking pig brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
.
In August, 2009, he and fellow The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef
The Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
contestant Aarón Sánchez
Aarón Sanchez
Aarón Sanchez is an American chef, the executive chef and part-owner of the restaurant Centrico. He has appeared on Iron Chef America, and is one of the few chefs whose battles have ended in a draw, tying with Masaharu Morimoto in "Battle Black Bass" in Season 2...
began hosting Chefs vs. City
Chefs vs. City
Chefs vs. City is an American television show produced by Food Network. The show stars chefs Aarón Sanchez and Chris Cosentino who travel to different cities of the United States to challenge two local chefs to a variety of food-related challenges. Also starring is actor Ethan Erickson as the...
on the Food Network. Each week they travel to different cities, taking on two local chefs in a variety of food-related challenges.
In addition, Cosentino is regularly featured on episodes of the Food Network series, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate".
He considers single-varietal extra-virgin olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
s, each having a distinct flavor, his culinary secret weapon. His involvement with local farmers' markets has enabled him to develop close relationships with local food producers, relationships which are very important to him and allow him to be involved in the production and butchering of meat he uses and of other ingredients in his many specialties. He has been especially dedicated to the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market.
In his spare time he cycles on some very rugged Northern California mountain biking trails on a one-speed, does endurance rides, and spends time with his wife and young son.
It was announced in 2011 that Cosentino is teaming up with the publishers of Wolverine to write a comic. In addition to helping out with the story, he'll also be featured as a character.
Television appearances
- 2005, Check Please! Bay Area
- 2005, Martha Stewart
- 2007, Iron Chef AmericaIron Chef AmericaIron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
- 2007, The Next Iron ChefThe Next Iron ChefThe Next Iron Chef, is a limited-run series on the Food Network now in its fourth season. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program Iron Chef America....
- 2007, Modern MarvelsModern MarvelsModern Marvels is a documentary television series that premiered on January 1, 1995 on History. The program focuses on how technologies affect and are used in today's society....
- Episode: The Pig - 2008, Iron Chef AmericaIron Chef AmericaIron Chef America: The Series is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's Iron Chef, and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed Iron Chef USA. The show is produced by Food Network, which also carried a dubbed version of the original Iron Chef. Like the...
- 2008, At The Table With...
- 2009, Chefs vs. CityChefs vs. CityChefs vs. City is an American television show produced by Food Network. The show stars chefs Aarón Sanchez and Chris Cosentino who travel to different cities of the United States to challenge two local chefs to a variety of food-related challenges. Also starring is actor Ethan Erickson as the...
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
External links
- Offal Good - Cosentino's professional blog
- Q&A With Chris Cosentino - AllYourTV.com
- Boccalone
- Incanto
- Offal Incanto Dinner with Anthony Bourdain Mission District writer Mary Ladd recounts eating an offal tasting menu at Incanto with Anthony BourdainAnthony BourdainAnthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
- http://www.forbestraveler.com/food-drink/nose-to-tail-dining-story.html Joshua M. Bernstein discusses Incanto/Cosentino and other US restaurants/chefs specializing in serving the whole animal.
See also
- Local foodLocal foodLocal food or the local food movement is a "collaborative effort to build more locally based, self-reliant food economies - one in which sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and consumption is integrated to enhance the economic, environmental and social health of a particular...
- Sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
- Sustainable food system
- OffalOffalOffal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
- LocavoresLocavoresA locavore is a person interested in eating food that is locally produced, not moved long distances to market. The locavore movement in the United States and elsewhere was spawned as interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness became more prevalent....
- Animal husbandryAnimal husbandryAnimal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
- Italian-American cuisineItalian-American cuisineItalian American cuisine is the cuisine of Italian American immigrants and their descendents, who have modified Italian cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Italians to the United States...
- PorkPorkPork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....