Dan Barber (born October 2, 1969) is the chef and co-owner of
Family Meal at Blue Hill in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
and
Blue Hill at Stone Barns in
Pocantico Hills, New York
Pocantico Hills is a hamlet in the Westchester County town of Mount Pleasant, New York, United States. The Rockefeller family estate, anchored by Kykuit, the family seat built by John D. Rockefeller Sr., is located in Pocantico Hills, as is the ...
, United States. He is the author of ''The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food''.
Education
He is a 1992 graduate of Tufts University, where he received a
B.A.
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in English and a graduate of the
French Culinary Institute
The International Culinary Center (originally known as the French Culinary Institute) was a private for-profit culinary school from 1984 to 2020 headquartered in New York City, New York. The facilities included professional kitchens for hands- ...
.
Career
Barber operates
Family Meal at Blue Hill in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
and
Blue Hill at Stone Barns in
Pocantico Hills, New York
Pocantico Hills is a hamlet in the Westchester County town of Mount Pleasant, New York, United States. The Rockefeller family estate, anchored by Kykuit, the family seat built by John D. Rockefeller Sr., is located in Pocantico Hills, as is the ...
.
Around 2009, Barber was involved in developing a miniature
butternut squash
Butternut squash (a variety of ''Cucurbita moschata''), known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a Sweetness, sweet, Nut (fruit), nutty taste similar to that of a ...
. Together with
Michael Mazourek, they created the
honeynut squash.
The two later created and operate
Row 7 Seed Company, a seed company selling similar gourds and other specially-bred seeds.
In 2014, he published ''The Third Plate: Field Notes On the Future of Food'' in which he describes the development of mankind via food in four episodes: "Soil", "Land", "Sea" and "Seeds".
In May 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Barber launched the resourcED program at both Blue Hill restaurants, which packaged ingredients from the Stone Barns farm and included directions for customers to cook themselves. The boxes were intended to keep the restaurants and their suppliers in business when they couldn't host diners.
In August 2020, Barber announced he would be stepping down from the kitchen of Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Blue Hill in Greenwich Village. The change was anticipated to happen in 2021, with the kitchens being led with a diversity-focused chef-in-residence concept. The new concept was a response to the
Black Lives Matter protests bringing attention to structural inequities in the restaurant industry. As of 2022, Barber has returned to cooking at Blue Hill at Stone Barns.
A 2022 ''
Eater
Eater may refer to:
* Eater (band), an English punk rock group
* "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself''
* ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford
* ''Eater'' ( ...
'' article alleged that Barber's Blue Hill at Stone Barns restaurant has a history of abuse toward its employees, a toxic work environment, and other issues, with a focus on Barber being ignorant of an employee's report of sexual assault. Through crisis & reputation management firm
Trident DMG, as well as defamation law firm Clare Locke, Blue Hill denied all allegations.
Recognition
In 2002, Barber was named one of the Best New Chefs by ''
Food & Wine
''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...
''.
[ He has received several ]James Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...
awards, including the 2006 award for Best Chef: New York City and the 2009 award for Outstanding Chef. The James Beard Foundation also named him the top chef in America in 2009. Also in 2009, he was named one of the world's most influential people in ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's annual ''Time'' 100.
Barber was appointed by the President of the United States Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
to serve on the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition
The President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition (PCSFN) is a Federal Advisory Committee Act, federal advisory committee that aims to promote "programs and initiatives that motivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to le ...
and is also a member of the advisory board to the . Barber was featured in episode two of the first season of Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
's ''Chef's Table
''Chef's Table'' is an American documentary series created by David Gelb', which premiered on video streaming service Netflix on April 26, 2015. The series takes viewers inside both the lives and kitchens of a variety of acclaimed and successful ...
'' series in 2015.
Approach to cuisine
Barber was mentored by notable California cuisine
California cuisine is a food movement that originated in Northern California. The cuisine focuses on dishes that are driven by local and sustainable ingredients with an attention to seasonality and an emphasis on the bounty of the region.
Th ...
chefs, Mark Peel at Campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...
in Los Angeles and Alice Waters
Alice Louise Waters (born April 28, 1944) is an American chef, restaurateur, food writer, and author. In 1971, she opened Chez Panisse, a restaurant in Berkeley, California, famous for its role in creating the farm-to-table movement and for ...
at Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California, restaurant, known as one of the originators of California cuisine and the farm-to-table movement, opened and owned by Alice Waters. The restaurant emphasizes ingredients rather than technique and has de ...
in Berkeley. He has written on food and agricultural policies in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''Gourmet
Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...
'', ''The Nation
''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', ''Saveur
''Saveur'' is an online gourmet, food, wine, and travel magazine that publishes essays about various world cuisines. The publication was co-founded by Dorothy Kalins, Michael Grossman, Christopher Hirsheimer, and Colman Andrews. It was started ...
'', and ''Food & Wine
''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...
''.
In 2008 he gave a TED talk
TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
on foie gras
; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding).
''Foie gras'' i ...
produced without force-feeding
Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose (nasogastric tube, nasogastric) or mouth (o ...
on a farm in Spain which he describes as a "Garden of Eden
In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31..
The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
".
In 2010, Barber gave a talk at the TED Conference, where he outlined his discovery of extensively farmed fish at Veta La Palma, Spain. He spoke about how ecological and sustainable farm systems affect the flavor of agricultural products.
Personal life
He is married to Aria Beth Sloss, with whom he has two daughters.
References
External links
Biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Dan
American male chefs
American chefs
American food writers
International Culinary Center alumni
Head chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants
Writers from New York (state)
1969 births
Living people
James Beard Foundation Award winners