Posted on Jan 20, 2011 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews, Uncategorized |
Chef Antonio de Livier
I recently visited the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort in Cabo San Lucas. While there I was lucky enough to dine at La Frida, the Mexican-themed restaurant which celebrates the artist Frida Kahlo at their sister resort, Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach. Executive Chef Antonio de Livier was gracious enough to sit down with me before he made me an elegant and lovely tasting menu at La Frida. We talked about his philosophy on cooking, Mexican cuisine, and cuisine at La Frida.
De Livier is Mexican by birth, eclectically international in his approach to food and its preparation. Since childhood he has harbored a passion for the special qualities of Mexican foods—their tastes, textures and abundant variety. At La Frida, he combines the best of local fish, seafood, meats and fresh organic vegetables and spices in his own artistically adventuresome recipes, creating delicious nuances and intricate layers of delicate flavors. The result is a menu that brings elegance and a joyful exuberance to contemporary Mexican cuisine.
De Livier was born and educated in Mexico and speaks fluent Spanish, Portuguese and English. His passion for cooking took him to the U.S. for further study and to work with talented chefs in an international atmosphere. He was formerly with the acclaimed Great Bay Restaurant in Boston, which has lent an authentic Boston accent to his perfect command of English. He is executive chef at restaurants Fellini’s and Las Palomos at other Pueblo Bonito resorts in Cabo. Here is our conversation.
Posted on Dec 10, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Fabio Viviani
Italian chef Fabio Viviani was born on October 10, 1978 in Florence. There, he trained in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine at IPSSAR Saffi. He is best known for appearing on season 5 of Bravo’s reality series Top Chef and earning a place among the final four contestants. Before he was eliminated from the competition, he was named Fan Favorite.
Aside from his stint on the show, he works as the owner of Cafe Firenze in Moorpark and Firenze in Toluca Lake. He is also an endorser of a variety of food products and is starting up a non-profit to promote healthy eating for children.
You can now see Fabio competing in Top Chef All Stars every Wednesday night on Bravo.
I visited Firenze in Toluca Lake for an article for AOL’s Toluca Lake Patch and sat down with Fabio for a short interview after he made us a great tasting menu (pics in next post). We talked about his views on cooking, managing two restaurants and all of his endorsements, and his experiences on Bravo’s Top Chefs.
Posted on Oct 04, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Mark Ferguson
Mark Ferguson’s passion for the epicurean began as a child while cooking in his mother’s kitchen in Denver, and he used his culinary skills to support himself through Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.
After graduating with a degree in business, Ferguson moved to San Francisco in 1989 where he worked as a sous chef for the Gilbert-Robinson Company at Houlihan’s Restaurant. He later joined master chef Jeremiah Tower at his renowned restaurant, Stars. While at Stars, Ferguson furthered his cooking skill set by training at the California Culinary Academy and met Chef David Robins.
It was Robins, also a chef at Stars, who asked Ferguson to join him in launching Chef Wolfgang Puck’s famed Spago in Las Vegas, whose opening sparked the city’s dining revolution which persists today. Ferguson joined the Spago Las Vegas opening team as Chef de Cuisine.
During his eight years at Spago, Ferguson greatly enhanced his education and knowledge, cooking alongside some of the greatest names in the culinary profession, such as Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud, Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller and Alain Ducasse. Together with these world-renowned chefs, he participated in numerous charitable dinners and events including Wolfgang’s American Wine and Food Festival, Keep Memory Alive and Andre Agassi’s Grand Slam for Children. In addition, Ferguson prepared private dinners for high-profile public figures, such as President William Jefferson Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
When Chef Wolfgang Puck embarked on his first Italian restaurant concept, Trattoria del Lupo, he called upon Ferguson to spearhead the endeavor. In preparation for his new role as Executive Chef and Partner, Ferguson traveled Italy extensively, cooking and tasting throughout different regions of the country to develop the restaurant’s innovative Italian menu.
During his eight years at Lupo, Ferguson received the 2002 Las Vegas Life Epicurean Award for Best Italian Restaurant in Las Vegas, and in 2003 he was honored by In Business Las Vegas magazine as one of the top forty rising stars in the city.
Nearly twenty years after leaving, Ferguson returned home to Colorado, where his culinary passion was born. In 2007 as Executive Chef, Ferguson opened Spago, the flagship of Wolfgang Puck fine dining group at InterThe Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch on Beaver Creek Mountain. The menu features a fusion of sustainable, all-natural and organic ingredients.
While attending the American Wine and Food Festival, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chef Ferguson and chat about his background and cooking philosophy.
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Posted on Aug 17, 2010 under Archives, Chefs, Interviews |
Chef Ernst Dorfler and Gerry Sayers, owners of Five Sails Restaurant, Vancouver
On my last trip to Vancouver, I visited the Five Sails restaurant at the top of the Pan Pacific Hotel. The restaurant has amazing views and equally amazing food, which I got to sample in a fabulous tasting menu. I also got to sit down with owner and Chef Ernst Dorfler to talk a bit about his food. Our interview is below.
Chef Ernst Dorflers’ diverse career began when he left his home in Sirnitz, Austria at the age of fifteen to become an apprentice at the Four Star Trattlerhof Hotel in Bad Kleinkirchheim. Armed with formal French and Swiss training Ernst left to see the world, enriching his cultural and gastronomic experience in Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Canada.
Dorfler’s Canadian culinary adventures have taken him from the East to the West Coast. He commenced his Canadian “tour” at the Quebec Hilton in Quebec City, followed by the Westin Hotel, Waldens Restaurant and the Four Seasons Hotel in Edmonton and eventually bringing him to Vancouver in 1988 as Executive Chef of the Five Diamond, Pan Pacific Hotel.
From 1981 to 1992 Ernst competed in the culinary arts locally, nationally and internationally achieving over 30 gold medals. He has been proud to represent Canada at seven international culinary events and was a member of the acclaimed Canadian Culinary Olympic Championship Team in 1992, achieving the highest honor of gold medal for best overall team/country at the World Culinary Olympics in Frankfurt, Germany.
Chef Dorfler has continued to win praise and accolades from Vancouverites and visitors to the Five Sails Restaurant and the Pan Pacific Vancouver – both of which have been consistently recognized with the AAA Five Diamond designation since 1990.
