Chef Questionnaire

Chef interviews with a nod to Marcel Proust.

i8tonite with Phoenix’s Barrio Cafe Chef Silvana Salcida Esparza & Chiles en Nogada Recipe
Arizona Chef Chef Questionnaire Mexican Recipes Roasting

i8tonite with Phoenix’s Barrio Café Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza & Chiles en Nogada Recipe

There is no doubting Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza’s immense impact in the Phoenix restaurant world. Ask any chef currently with a restaurant in the Valley of the Sun about Esparza, and they will respond, “Oh, she’s the best. She’s tough, but she is one of the best.” A second generation Mexican American, Esparza was born […]

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i8tonite: with Palm Springs' Workshop Chef Michael Beckman
American Classics California Chef Chef Questionnaire Michael Beckman Restaurants Workshop

i8tonite: with Palm Springs’ Workshop Chef Michael Beckman

Palm Springs is known as a resort town – an enclave for second homes, secret hotel pools, and cocktails. The cocktail culture is the town’s prevailing modus operandi. With a population of a little over 50,000, it’s never really been considered a food haven. Ask a few of the locals who live in the desert […]

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293 Wallace, Hope, BC. Photo by rupert blades. i8tonite with Hope, BC's 293 Wallace Chef Hiro Takeda & Cacio e Pepe Recipe
Canada Chef Chef Questionnaire Chefs i8tonite Noodles Pasta Recipes

i8tonite with Hope, BC’s 293 Wallace Chef Hiro Takeda & Cacio e Pepe Recipe

Inspired by his father, who was a chef before he became an ice carver, Hiro Takeda began his career at Newlands Golf and Country Club, completing his three year apprenticeship before the age of 20. Working at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and Diva at the Met gave him valuable experience in Vancouver, and a job […]

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California Chef Questionnaire Eating Out Hollywood Los Angeles Wine

i8tonite: Los Angeles’ Franco on Melrose, Chef Franco de Dominicis

Along a strip of Melrose Avenue, just past La Brea is Franco on Melrose. It’s location is in the City of Angel’s culinary corridor featuring a few of the most lauded epicurean stops in the city including Providence, Mozza, Mud Hen Tavern and Trois Mec. To the south, one can wander to Republique or Odys […]

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Citrus Glazed Mahi Mahi Recipe from Anzu Restaurant, Hotel Nikko, San Francisco
California Chef Chef Questionnaire Fish i8tonite Recipes San Francisco

I8tonite with San Francisco’s Anzu Chef Michael Raub on Asian Fusion Cuisine & Citrus Glazed Mahi Mahi Recipe

Anzu’s Chef Michael Raub‘s story is one that seems to exemplify the phrase, “Life is what happens when you’re making plans.” From Texas barbecue to the French Laundry to Asian-Fusion cuisine, Michael Raub, Executive Chef at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco, didn’t plan a career in the restaurant business. Though cooking was a big part […]

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Chef Chef Questionnaire Eating Out Korean Miami Restaurants

I8tonite with Miami’s Drunken Dragon Chef Xavier Torres: Recipe for Drunken Dragon Popcorn

Drunken Dragon Chef Xavier Torres cooked for both for his mother and brother while growing up in Puerto Rico.  It’s what he loved to do. With his family’s support, the well-traveled chef sought out new flavors and cooking opportunities —  but every step of the way his family had his back. In 2014, the Johnson […]

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American Classics Chef Questionnaire Cooking New York Reality TV Scallops Sobriety

i8tonite with Chef Barret Beyer:TV’s Reality Chef Opens Up About Cooking Sober

Chef Barret Beyer epitomizes new beginnings and change, inspiring millions with his cooking and actions. While working in New York City’s financial industry and boom era during the aughts, Beyer was arrested ten times for drug charges, even overdosing in 2006. For ten years, from 1998 until 2008, he was in and out of jails. […]

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2015 Chef Questionnaire Entrepreneurs Uncategorized

i8tonite: with James Beard Award-Winning Chef Naomi Pomeroy from Portland, Oregon’s Beast featuring her recipe for Lacquered Duck Confit

NOTE: This is the first post of 2016. You would think I would write something with a little more auspiciousness or something marking the occasion. However, I loved this story from 2015. I feel Naomi Pomeroy is a great chef making amazing inroads into an industry dominated by men. The recipe — although difficult is […]

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Cheese Chef Chef Questionnaire Los Angeles

i8tonite: Sex on The Table’s Chef Fed Comes to Los Angeles: Recipe for Brie Fondue, Smoked Duck and Apricots

Chef Fed made a culinary name for himself in New York City. Teaching and pairing wines under the pop-up moniker of Sex On the Table, a showcase of edible aphrodisiacs,  he established a considerable following among the discerning palates of the nation’s Big Apple. He’s even garnered a lot of media attention appearing on Chopped, […]

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Broiled Oysters with Polenta and Quail Egg, Chef Jamie Lynch, 5Church Charleston
Chef Chef Questionnaire Chefs Questionnaire Recipes Restaurants

i8tonite: with Chef Jamie Lynch, Charleston’s 5Church & Broiled Oysters with Polenta and Quail Egg

Jamie Lynch is a New York native and graduated from New England Culinary Institute in Burlington, Vermont. He has worked at New York Time’s 4 star Le Cirque 2000 Restaurant in The Palace Hotel, Aureole under Charlie Palmer and Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud, and Touquevillle Restaurant in Union Square. Reflecting on his years cooking in NYC, Jamie […]

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