Gary Danko

Last updated

Gary Danko
Gary Danko Massachusetts.jpg
Gary Danko (center) at B.T.'s Smokehouse in Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Born
Education The Culinary Institute of America
Culinary career
Cooking style French, Mediterranean, and American
Current restaurant(s)
Previous restaurant(s)
Website GaryDanko.com

Gary Danko is an American chef. He combines French, Mediterranean, and American styles into his cooking. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant in San Francisco, California.

Contents

Early life

Danko was born in Massena, New York, his father was a Hungarian immigrant. His grandmother was Jewish and he grew up with Hungarian cooking with Jewish overtones. [1]

Culinary development

Danko started cooking at the local Village Inn restaurant at age 14. By the time he graduated high school, he had been exposed to every position in the restaurant. [2] Danko completed his culinary education at the Hyde Park, New York campus of the Culinary Institute of America. He relocated to San Francisco in 1977 and worked as a waiter at the Waterfront Restaurant. Chef Danko returned to New York to enroll in Madeleine Kamman's class at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School in 1983. In 1985, Danko became the executive chef at Beringer Vineyards. He later became the executive chef at Chateau Souverain in Sonoma County. In 1992 Danko left to become the chef of the Terrace restaurant at the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco. He was then appointed the executive chef of the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, S.F.Ritz-Carlton. Gary opened his eponymous restaurant in 1999, and has won numerous awards, including a Michelin star first awarded in 2007.

Restaurants

In 1999, Danko created his own restaurant, named for himself, near Fisherman's Wharf. Gary Danko has also made appearances as the featured chef on the Food Network and PBS. Restaurant Gary Danko has been a recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award since 2001. [3] In 2002, the restaurant was designated one of 18 Relais & Chateaux properties in North America. [4]

Food

Diners select from three, four or five prix-fixe menu courses. Danko's signature dishes include roast Maine lobster with white corn, tarragon, and chanterelles, pancetta wrapped frog legs with garlic purée, and roasted quail stuffed with mushrooms and foie gras. Most dishes are served year round, but ingredients are adjusted seasonally to emphasize local produce. Before it was banned in California, in late spring 2012, Danko's seared foie gras was paired with Bing cherries, but in early fall, with roast figs.[ citation needed ] It was returned to the menu recently, and now comes as Salt Cured Foie Gras Torchon with Pear Compote, Spiced Walnuts and Country Bread.

Awards and honors

YearOrganizationCategory
1995 James Beard Foundation Best Chef-California
1999Esquire MagazineBest New Restaurant
1999Mobil Travel GuideFirst "Five Star" rating
2000James Beard FoundationBest New Restaurant
2000San Francisco MagazineChef of the Year
2002 James Beard Foundation Award Nominated Outstanding Chef of the Year
2002 Relais & Chateaux Relais & Chateaux property
2007 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2007 Zagat Survey Top Restaurant
2008 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2012 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2013 James Beard Foundation Award Nominated Outstanding Chef of the Year
2013 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2014 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2015 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2016 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2017 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2018 Michelin Guide One Star Rating
2019 Michelin Guide One Star Rating [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auguste Escoffier</span> French chef and culinary writer (1846–1935)

Georges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French haute cuisine; Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernise Carême's elaborate and ornate style. In particular, he codified the recipes for the five mother sauces. Referred to by the French press as roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois, Escoffier was a preeminent figure in London and Paris during the 1890s and the early part of the 20th century.

Charlie Trotter was an American chef and restaurateur. His best-known restaurant, Charlie Trotter's, was open in Chicago from 1987 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fat Duck</span> Restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England

The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England, owned by the chef Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building, the Fat Duck opened on 16 August 1995. Although it originally served food similar to a French bistro, it soon acquired a reputation for precision and innovation, and has been at the forefront of many modern culinary developments, such as food pairing, flavour encapsulation and multi-sensory cooking.

Ron Siegel is an American chef who formerly worked in San Francisco. In August 2012, it was announced he was joining San Francisco restaurant, Michael Mina, as executive chef. He had been Chef of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, taking over for Chef Sylvain Portray in 2004. Siegel is perhaps best known for his 1998 appearance on Iron Chef, becoming the first ever U.S. citizen to win in Kitchen Stadium. His cooking style is known for blending haute French cuisine with subtle Japanese touches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Boulud</span> French chef and restaurateur

Daniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Toronto, Montréal, Singapore, the Bahamas, and Dubai. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant Daniel, opened in New York City in 1993, which currently holds one Michelin star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurent Manrique</span> French Michelin-starred chef

Laurent Manrique is a French restaurateur and Michelin-starred chef. He currently owns establishments in San Francisco and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick O'Connell (chef)</span>

Patrick O'Connell is an American chef and proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington, a country inn and restaurant in the town of Washington, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Box Tree</span> Restaurant in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England

The Box Tree is a restaurant located in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Yorkshire businessman Adam Frontal and the current executive chef Brayden Davies, who has worked at multiple Michelin star restaurants, has led the kitchen since early 2023, offers a new tasting menu on a monthly basis. The Box Tree was previously operated by chef Simon Gueller and his wife, Rena, from 2005 to late 2022. Under their management the restaurant had been redecorated, although elements from the original owners of the restaurant remained. Reception by food critics has improved over the years; the restaurant held a single Michelin star until 2019 and three AA rosettes. A sister company is also run by the chef, called Box Tree Events.

Charlie Palmer is an American chef, hospitality entrepreneur, hotelier, and author. He is best known for Aureole, his flagship restaurant in New York City, which has earned 13 Michelin stars and two James Beard awards. Considered a “pioneer of progressive American cooking,” Palmer has received over 20 Michelin stars and consults 15 F&B outlets through the Charlie Palmer Collective.

Missy Robbins is an American chef who has held a Michelin star at two restaurants, and a contestant on season four of Top Chef Masters. Robbins specializes in Italian cuisine and owns two Italian restaurants in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Lilia and Misi, which opened in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

Justin Bogle is an American Chef. He was the executive chef at Gilt restaurant in New York. In 2009, Bogle became the youngest American chef, at age 28, to earn two Michelin stars. Bogle has been described as a quiet, but equally talented version of chef Paul Liebrandt of Corton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosconi (restaurant)</span> Restaurant in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Mosconi is an Italian restaurant located at 13 rue Munster in the Grund district of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, overlooking the river Alzette. Headed by chef Ilario Mosconi, formerly from Lombardy, Italy, it is one of the Relais & Châteaux series of hotels and gourmet restaurants from around the world. The menu is an eight-course set menu of pasta dishes mainly prepared with imported Italian ingredients. Mosconi became the first Italian restaurant to receive a Michelin star in Benelux. From 2005 to 2014, it had two Michelin stars, but the rating has since dropped to one star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Westermann</span> French chef (born 1946)

Antoine Westermann is a French chef.

Vicky Lau, a culinary entrepreneur born in Hong Kong, is the founder and head chef of Tate Dining Room, a restaurant awarded two-Michelin star, and green Michelin star Mora. In 2015, she was named the Best Female Chef in Asia by Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominique Crenn</span> French chef (born 1965)

Dominique Crenn is a French chef. As of 2016, she was the only female chef in the United States to attain three Michelin stars, for her restaurant Atelier Crenn, in San Francisco. Crenn has been featured in several Food Network and other television shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Subijana</span> Spanish chef

Pedro Subijana Reza is a Spanish chef who runs the restaurant Akelarre in San Sebastián, Spain. In 2006 his restaurant received its third Michelin star.

State Bird Provisions is a San Francisco restaurant founded by chef-owners Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Kreuther</span> Restaurant in New York, United States

Gabriel Kreuther is a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Manhattan named after its chef and owner, Gabriel Kreuther. It specializes in modern Alsatian food with other French, German, and American influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Square (restaurant)</span> London fine dining restaurant

The Square was a London fine dining restaurant, opened on 13 December 1991 in St James's. Since its opening, it had been co-owned by chef Phil Howard and wine expert Nigel Platts-Martin. It also earned its first Michelin star in 1994 and retained it from then on. After relocating to Mayfair in February 1997, The Square won a second Michelin star in 1998, which it retained until 2016, the same year when Howard and Platts-Martin sold the restaurant to a company held by Marlon Abela. It regained its first Michelin star in 2017. It closed on 31 January 2020, causing the restaurant to lose its star the following year.

Tony Esnault is a French chef and restaurateur at Knife Pleat, a Michelin-starred French restaurant in Costa Mesa, California.

References

  1. "Top". Pbs.org. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  2. "Meet Gary Danko". Theworldwidegourmet.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. "Restaurant Gary Danko". Wine Spectator. January 1, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  4. Relais & Chateaux - Gary Danko
  5. "San Francisco Bay Area's Michelin Stars Announced for 2019, Again". eater.com. June 3, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2019.