Portrait of a Chef

giuseppe tentori

by KATE BERNOT

From a childhood spent on his grandmother’s farm in Italy to a career at the helm of Chicago’s BOKA and GT Fish & Oyster, Giuseppe Tentori has always let his passions guide him.

An obsession with seasonal ingredients, Italian technique, and fresh seafood has earned him a Michelin star and the title of Food & Wine’s Best New Chef 2008. But it’s his warm hospitality that makes each meal at his restaurants especially memorable. We invited Sarah Grueneberg, the subject of last issue’s “Portrait of a Chef”, to submit the questions she’s been dying to ask Giuseppe…. and forced him to answer them.

what’s your most embarrassing kitchen moment?

My most embarrassing moment happened when I was working at Charlie Trotter’s in 1998. I was working the vegetable station, and I was using white truffles. I just put two pieces of shaved white truffle on a dish, because they’re very expensive. I thought I was doing the guy a favor. And I remember Charlie yelling at me: “Are you Italian or what?” I learned that if you’re going to use something, you better really use it.

what ingredient do you cook with that would surprise people?

Licorice. At BOKA I used to do short ribs braised in licorice—not even fennel, just regular black licorice.

what’s the secret ingredient in your legendary clam chowder?

Really, Sarah? Okay. It’s bacon and cornstarch.

when mentoring, what’s the trait you most look for in a young cook?

Their care and passion. The other night, I had to yell at one of my guys on the line because he put a dish up for the server and he knew it wasn’t cooked right. I pulled him aside and explained to him, it’s very important that you do this right, because at the end of the day, you have to be proud of what you do. And he understood that.

if you were going to open another restaurant, what would the concept be?

An Italian steakhouse. That’s my dream.

AT GT Fish & Oyster, Giuseppe Tentori serves seasonal King Crab legs with clarified butter and aromatic citrus wedges.