Interview: chef Chris Cosentino (Incanto, Boccalone + Pigg)

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Chef San Francisco

Masaharu Morimoto joined friend Chris Cosentino at Pebble Beach Food & Wine.

The public profile of Chris Cosentino seemingly grows by the minute. The Rhode Island native, pro mountain biker and offal advocate made his first major splash on the San Francisco dining scene at Incanto, a diverse Italian restaurant in Noe Valley. He grabbed the reins of the kitchen in 2003 and added Boccalone to the mix in 2007, specializing in “tasty salted pig parts” at the Ferry Building and beyond. In early 2012, he teamed with Umami Burger founder Adam Fleischman on one part of Umamicatessen, which they called Pigg. He’s also gained recognition on TV by competing on The Next Iron Chef and co-hosting Chefs vs City with Aaron Sanchez. We spoke with Cosentino on April 12 at the Pebble Beach Food & Wine festival, and he shared insights that hint at how he’s cultivated culinary success.

Was there any doubt that pig would be your go-to animal?

You know, I think there’s something special and pretty magic about pork. There are two things, if you really look at it. There’s the duck, and you can eat 100% of it in the avarian world, and then you have pig. You can use all of it. It’s a pretty magic animal. The more I use it, the more I learn about it and the more I learn can be done with it. No, I don’t think there’s any question that I would do any other animal.

Is there still more than you can learn about what to do with pig?

You can learn anything every day. Any time somebody says they know everything, they need to quit, because they know nothing. I know absolutely nothing, and I’ve been doing this since I was 15, so every day I learn. Every day, I’m focusing on being better and improving. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. You can always be better at what you do, and you can also learn more about what you’re doing.

Was it a given that you’d become a chef, or did you consider other careers?

You know, I grew up working on commercial fishing boats, and I worked on local farms, but I wanted to cook because it gave me the ability to go skiing. And I really associated great food with skiing, because when you were done skiing, you’d always come back and there would be really amazing stews and such. The more I looked into it, the more I really loved it. I started when I was 15.

What was your very first night like in a professional restaurant kitchen, and where was that?

My first job was dishwasher at IHOP. I lied when I was 14 to get a job to be a dishwasher, and then I went from there to a university, and I was working at university. I did prep, and then I went to culinary school. Then I started working in other kitchens.

What do you look for when you’re hiring somebody to work in one of your kitchens?

We have a pretty strict questionnaire that I ask everybody. You know, “Do you cook at home?” “What chefs do you look up to and why?” “What does braise mean?” Let’s see. “How did you hear about this restaurant?” There’s a slew. There are about 20 questions, and I ask everybody because a resume can only say so much, and it’s more about the fit with the rest of the team than it is about their cooking ability. You can train people, and if they don’t fit well with the rest of the team, then it’s not a good fit.

Is there anything that you don’t enjoy eating?

I don’t like balut, and I don’t like natto.

Did you play any sports in high school?

I used to skateboard.

And how do you stay active these days?

I was a professional bike racer for about seven years, so I raced mountain bikes professionally and I retired about five years ago, but I still ride a lot.

What sort of music do you like to listen to while cooking, if any?

I don’t.

Why not?

I think it’s distracting. Sometimes if I want to listen to music, I’ll leave the kitchen and zone out and focus on menus and stuff, but when you’re in the kitchen, I think you need to focus and hear what’s happening around you. Things are cooking. There are sounds. It makes noise and really tells you what’s happening.

Address: 1550 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94131
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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

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