Chef Reno Rodriguez

Chef Reno Rodriguez PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S

Seafood Master

By April Neale

Becoming a chef takes focus and years of time, training, and practice, not to mention being lucky enough to have a fabulous mentor in the kitchen who breathes wind into your creative sails. Anthony’s, the Pacific Northwest’s high-end restaurant group with a newer location in Boise, found that particular person in Chef Reno Rodriguez.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S

Chef Reno Rodriguez earned his Culinary Arts Degree from the California School of Culinary Arts’ Le Cordon Bleu Program. Fortuitously, he was hired out of culinary school by celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi, at which point he honed his skills in pairing seafood with local ingredients. Yamaguchi made a mark on Reno, who said: “Chef Roy Yamaguchi [of Roy’s Restaurant fame] worked hard to get to where he was and had a lot of pride in that. You sensed it when you met him or when you spoke with him. Roy was very culinary driven and was a big supporter of the back of the house.” The camaraderie extended past business hours, according to Reno. “Roy was one of the most personable chefs to get along with and was one of those guys—when it was time for business, we handled it. Then, when that day was done, he’d invite all the cooks and chefs to his table to have a glass of wine and wrap up the night. He was just really down to earth and understood culinary culture.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S

Chef Reno also trained through immersive travel, especially throughout the Iberian peninsula and the Spanish Pyrennees. That travel, combined with the exposure to his noted mentor, was the perfect resumé that appealed to Chef Pat Donahue, who interviewed Chef Reno for a new appointment at Anthony’s in the JUMP Center. By then, Reno had spent a good amount of time in Spain and Las Vegas working in fast-paced environments, but he was ready to click it down and wanted a more wholesome place for his kids to thrive. Anthony’s Chef Donahue recognized that level of exposure, training, and expertise in Reno when he interviewed him for the new position in Boise. “I met Chef Pat, our corporate chef,” Reno says. “From there, It was nice to see how family-centric this restaurant is, which is just a complete change from what I was used to.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S

The menu at Anthony’s boasts dishes that resonate with all that Chef Reno magic, featuring new and exciting dishes that he cannot wait for you to try. “I have been here for a year now and have pivoted to the direction of our clientele who want that upscale feel, and we’ve added things like the seafood towers, crab cakes, and larger lobsters sought after. There’s a significant demand for that here, which I wasn’t expecting when I arrived in Boise.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S

The holiday hustle and bustle downtown is another factor in his menu planning. “Small plates are a lot of fun, especially during the holidays. People are out shopping for the holidays and might want to come in and warm up and have a cocktail,” Chef Reno said. “Smaller plates allow everyone to try something a little bit different. Like our Ahi Nachos with that Pacific Rim flavor without committing to a full entree—everybody can share with those. Especially around the holiday time, it’s a lot more fun to do, especially something a little richer to savor.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHONY’S