Gabriel Frasca is an American chef.

Biography

Frasca began cooking at the age of 15 on the North Shore of Massachusetts, but went to

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

to study journalism. Later on, he decided to become a chef, and by the age of 20 he was cooking French

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

for

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

winner named

Gordon Hamersley Gordon Hamersley is an American chef based in Boston and cookbook author. Arguably his roast chicken is his most acclaimed recipe. It was part of a meal he cooked for Julia Child in her show ''In Julia's Kitchen with Master Chefs.'' His personal t ...

Hamersley's Bistro Hamersley's Bistro was a South End, Boston French restaurant owned by Gordon Hamersley that closed in October 2014 after 27 years. They were known for their roast chicken in a shallot-mustard-herb marinade. But the duck confit was called the be ...

. In 1996 he got a job at the Chez Henri in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

where he worked with

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. When he retired, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. Duri ...

and Amanda Lydon. By 1997 he and Lydon went to

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where he worked at the L’abbaye de Saint Croix. Later, he worked with Michellin three-star chef Martin Berasategui in

San Sebastián San Sebastián, officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián (, ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, from the France–Spain border ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He then went to ''Dolomites'' restaurant in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and worked there with Norbert Neiderkofler at St. Hubertus, who, while he was there, got his first

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

. In the same place he met an American chef named

David Bouley David Bouley (May 27, 1953 – February 13, 2024) was an American and French chef. He was a sole owner and chef of restaurants in Tribeca, New York City, best known for his flagship restaurant, Bouley. Early life and education Bouley was born o ...

who invited him to help him to open a restaurant in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

called Danube. In 1999, Frasca moved to

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 spent time at Bouley Bakery (which earned a four-star rating from ''

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 ...

'') before the opening of Danube (which received three). In 2000 he returned to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and got his first chef position. In 2001, he was hired by his friend Seth Woods, at the just-opened Aquitaine Bis. The same year he was recognized by ''

The Improper Bostonian ''The Improper Bostonian'' was a glossy lifestyle magazine first published in August 1991 "highlighting the people and places that make Boston a world-class city." After 28 years, publisher Wendy Semonian Eppich announced that the magazine cease ...

'' newspaper as Boston's 2001 Rising Star and started working at the ''Radius'' restaurant which was owned by Michael Schlow. While Frasca was there, the restaurant won the ''Best Overall Restaurant'' Award from the ''

Boston Magazine ''Boston'' (also called "''Boston'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "BoMag") is a regional monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area, which has been in publication since 1962. History Metrocorp Publishing, a Philade ...

'' and was put into top 25 restaurants by the ''

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 ...

''. In November 2003, Frasca took over Spire restaurant, couple of years later the ''Boston Magazine'' named him Best Chef, Up and Coming. He was also awarded with three stars from the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

''. In 2006, he and Lydon became a co-Executive Chefs of the Straight Wharf Restaurant in

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

, Massachusetts which opened on July 4, 1976, and the same year Frasca was awarded with the ''Rising Stars Award''. He also appeared on

Fetch With Ruff Ruffman Fetch may refer to: Books * ''Fetch'', a 2012 book by Alan MacDonald and David Roberts * ''The Fetch'', a 2006 book by Chris Humphreys * ''The Fetch'', a 2009 book by Laura Whitcomb * ''The Fetch'', a 1991 book by Robert Holdstock * ''Fazbear F ...

Episode 15, Season 1 "Tryin' Chef."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frasca, Gabriel American chefs American male chefs Living people 20th-century births Year of birth missing (living people) Kenyon College alumni