Jason Hall Doesn’t Want to Ever Leave Michael PsilakisName: Jason Hall
Age: 28
Restaurants: Anthos and Mia Dona
Background: Hall Worked at San Francisco’s Aqua and One Market, followed by a long period as a line cook under George Morrone, at the four-star restaurant the Fifth Floor. Hall then spent five formative years at Craft, first under Marco Canora and then Damon Wise, before joining with Michael Psilakis and eventually becoming executive chef at his restaurants.
Chefwatch
Amy Louise Eubanks and Emilie Bousquet Are the BLT Fish Tag TeamEach week, we highlight one (or in this case, two) of the city’s great — but obscure — young chefs.
Name: Amy Louise Eubanks and Emilie Bousquet
Age: Both 32
Restaurant: BLT Fish / BLT Fish Shack
Background: BLT Fish and BLT Fish Shack are twin restaurants under one roof and have separate chefs de cuisine. Eubanks cooked at Cello, Laurent Tourondel’s first big New York restaurant, and then with Andrew Carmellini at Café Boulud before returning to open BLT Steak and then BLT Fish. Bousquet worked on the line at Alain Ducasse at the Essex House, Spice Market, and Olives NY, and was the executive chef at Café des Artistes.
Chefwatch
Jason Kallert Carries the Le Cirque TorchEach week, we highlight one of the city’s great — but obscure — young chefs.
Name: Jason Kallert
Age: 29
Restaurant: Le Cirque
Background: Kallert is a CIA graduate who, after time spent under the late Patrick Clark at Tavern on the Green and Union Pacific with Rocco DiSpirito, began a long association with Le Cirque, outlasting three executive chefs: Sottha Kuhnn at the original Le Cirque, Pierre Schaedelin at Le Cirque 2000 and the current iteration of the restaurant, and his replacement, Christophe Bellanca.
Self-described style: “Very simple and traditional. I’m not into too much technical stuff or using crazy Asian flavors and herbs. If garlic and thyme goes with lamb, I use garlic and thyme. I’m not as creative as some chefs. I like a classic approach.”
Chefwatch
Nick Anderer Is the Acting Pooh-bah at Gramercy TavernEach week, we highlight one of the great but obscure young chefs who are actually running one of the city’s major restaurants.
Name: Nick Anderer
Age: 29
Restaurant: Gramercy Tavern
Background: Anderer put in time with New American pioneer Larry Forgione at the start of his career, followed by a short stint working the line at Babbo, and six months in Milan at the well-regarded San Giorgio et il Drago. He joined Gramercy as a line cook under Tom Colicchio and became executive sous-chef, the restaurant’s equivalent to chef de cuisine, under new chef Mike Anthony.
Chefwatch
Jordan Frosolone Tends Hearth Every NightEach week, we’ll be highlighting one of the great but obscure young chefs who are actually running one of the city’s major restaurants. .
Name: Jordan Frosolone
Age: 31
Restaurant: Hearth
Background: Forsolone, a native Chicagoan, put in time at Coco Pazzo, Blackbird, and Nomi, before hitting Italy for a year of heavy duty in Florence and Umbria. He then started in as a line cook for the famously demanding Marco Canora, at Hearth. When Canora went uptown to open Insieme, Forsolone was promoted to chef de cuisine and given the keys to Hearth.
Style: “I’m definitely in love with the greenmarket. Focused and balanced Italian and southern French.”
Chefwatch
Gordon Finn Is Mike White’s Secret Weapon at AltoEach week, we’ll be highlighting one of the great but obscure young chefs running one of the city’s major restaurants. These are the unheralded chefs de cuisine, the right arms to the name chefs, and when they are big stars themselves, you can say that you read about them here first.
Name: Gordon Finn
Age: 25
Restaurant: Alto
Background: Finn, a CIA graduate, earned his Italian-food chops cooking in good restaurants in Puglia, Tuscany, and Lombardy, before signing on with Scott Conant as line cook and then pasta chef at Alto, and eventually, under Michael White, chef de cuisine.
