Suzette Gresham
Suzette Gresham | |
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| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | Italian cuisine |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Suzette Gresham, also known as Suzette Gresham-Tognetti,[1][2] is an American chef. She holds two Michelin stars at her restaurant Acquerello in San Francisco, California.
Career
Suzette Gresham was hired to work as head chef at The Donatello, a hotel in San Francisco, California, by front of house manager Giancarlo Paterlini in 1988. This was the first head chef position for Gresham, who had previously worked for United Airlines. The hiring caused some surprise on her first day at the hotel, as the kitchen staff presumed that since she was female, that she was in fact the pastry chef. However, she found them respectful once they saw her work.[3] The hotel's owners' finances were curtailed as a result of the savings and loan crisis in 1989.
They left in 1989 to open Acquarello in the Nob Hill area of the city, with Gresham again as head chef, and Paterlini running the front of house. The Donatello's owner, Mr Rossi, was angry at Gresham, who he accused of poaching Paterlini. Following two weeks of refitting, Acquarello was opened.[3] Gresham ensured that there was a training environment in her kitchen, going as far as to assign additional homework to her staff on externships.[2] She likes to leave out cook books for her staff to read,[4] and offers to reimburse staff for books they have purchased.[2] Acquarello was awarded a Michelin star in 2007, and in 2014 was awarded a second.[5] This made Gresham one of three female chefs in the United States to hold two stars.[2]
After 24 years running Acquerello, Gresham and Paterlini opened a second restaurant in 2013.[6] They named it 1760, after the location of the restaurant at 1760 Polk Street.[7] While Gresham oversaw the food as chef patron, the head chef was Adam Tortosa.[8] In 2020, the 1760 restaurant closed.[7][9]
In 2021, the same location of 1760 Polk Street was used to open a cocktail bar with small bites, Sorella.[7][10] The Sorella’s culinary team includes the chef de cuisine, Denise St. Onge; and support from Seth Turiansky and Suzette Gresham.[9]
References
- ^ The Wine Spectator. Vol. 21. Wine Group. 1997. p. 58.
- ^ a b c d Hu, Janny (January 4, 2013). "Acquerello's 'Chef Mom' mentors staff". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Pape, Allie (August 27, 2014). "Acquerello's Owners on Female Chefs, Changing Times, and the New Face of Italian Food". Eater. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ Hu, Janny (January 8, 2013). "Lessons learned at Acquerello". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ Franklin, Marcy (October 22, 2014). "Meet the Third 2-Starred Female Chef In The Country, Suzette Gresham". Mediaite. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ Bauer, Michael (2015-10-14). "Polk Street's popular 1760 finds its groove". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
- ^ a b c "Former 1760 on Polk Pivoting to Sorella, a New Cocktail Bar and Restaurant From Acquerello Team". SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
- ^ Luchessi, Paolo (September 13, 2013). "1760 opens in San Francisco". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Rodriguez, Steph (2022-06-15). "These 17 Bay Area restaurants are Michelin Guide favorites". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
- ^ Miller, Virginia (2022-01-21). "Sorella Is Casual Italian Bliss in San Francisco". Medium. Retrieved 2022-07-11.