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Gordon Naccarato

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Gordon Naccarato
Gordon Naccarato in 2008
Born1954 (age 69–70)[1]
EducationStadium High School, University of Washington, Loyola Law School
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
Previous restaurant(s)
    • Michael's (Santa Monica), 1979–c. 1984
    • Gordon's Restaurant (Aspen), 1984–c. 1990
    • Campanile (LA)
    • Monkey Bar (LA)
    • Le Colonial (LA), c. 1999
    • Beach House (Purdy), 2002–c. 2005
    • Smoke + Cedar (Tacoma), 2014–2015
Award(s) won
    • Food and Wine Best New Chef, 1988
    • Aspen Magazine Pantheon, 2014
Websitewww.pacificgrilltacoma.com

Gordon Naccarato (born 1954) is an award-winning chef and restaurateur from Tacoma, Washington.

Education and early life

Naccarato was born in Tacoma,[2] and grew up in the Tacoma area. He is the son of Stan Naccarato, a vice-president of the Tacoma Stars soccer team, and a restaurant owner.[3][4]

He graduated from Stadium High School in 1972,[4] and then attended the University of Washington. He met his wife Rebecca, also from Washington, while living in Washington.[5][6] After UW, he attended Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University for two years, then dropped out in 1977.[4][5][6]

Restaurant career

Naccarato started working for Michael's in Santa Monica in 1979.[7] While there, he received Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 1988.[8]

Gordon Naccarato and his wife Rebecca Naccarato opened Gordon's Restaurant and Rebecca's Bakery in Aspen, Colorado in 1984.[6][9][10]

Naccarato and his wife were divorced; she worked at a grill in Kirkland and opened a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990;[11] and he moved back to Tacoma in July 2001,[2][12] after working under Mark Peel of Campanile and in other Los Angeles restaurants including Monkey Bar and Le Colonial in the 1990s.[13][14][15] He started the Beach House restaurant in Purdy in 2002.[4]

In Tacoma, Naccarato is president of Naccarato Restaurant Group, which operates Pacific Grill.[16] He opened Smoke + Cedar restaurant in 2014.[4][17] The Classics Cafe at America's Car Museum is owned by Naccarato.[18] His brother Steve opened Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma.[2][19]

Awards and recognition

In addition to the Best New Chef 1988 award noted above, Naccarato was named by Aspen Magazine in 2014 as one of 40 individuals creating modern Aspen, a former "culinary wasteland".[20]

Other chefs have noted the influence Naccarato had on their expression.[21]

Personal life

Naccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013.[16]

References

  1. ^ https://greatchefs.com/chef/gordon-naccarato-pacific-grill/
  2. ^ a b c "Starting a Successful Restaurant in Tacoma with Chef Gordon Naccarato", Move to Tacoma (podcast), March 25, 2015, Episode 004
  3. ^ Sandra McKee (January 28, 1992), "Naccarato takes on Foreman, getting lukewarm support at best", The Baltimore Sun
  4. ^ a b c d e "Chef profile: Gordon Naccarato and his new Tacoma restaurant, Smoke & Cedar", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, March 7, 2014
  5. ^ a b Colman Andrews (September 27, 1987), "Where Aspen's Elite Meet", The Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ a b c Marian Burros (March 2, 1988), "One the road a restaurant's staff finds culinary inspiration", The New York Times
  7. ^ Angela Jossy (May 10, 2007), "Pacific Grill: Chef to the stars brings expertise to Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
  8. ^ Frank Guanco (Apr 2, 2015), "The Food & Wine Best New Chefs Of Seattle", Seattle Refined, KOMO News
  9. ^ Marian Burros (June 12, 1987), "Visiting chefs do the town", The New York Times
  10. ^ Gael Greene (27 July 1987). True West. New York Media, LLC. pp. 46–48. ISSN 0028-7369. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Larry Brown (September 11, 1991), "Sister-Brother Entrepreneurs", The Seattle Times
  12. ^ "Q&A: Gordon Naccarato of Pacific Grill", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, November 30, 2012
  13. ^ "Tacoma's most sexy chef: Gordon Naccarato", The Weekly Volcano, Lakewood, Washington, March 2010 – via Northwest Military
  14. ^ "Six degrees of Campanile chefs", The Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2012
  15. ^ "Lettuce Cups", The Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1999
  16. ^ a b Neal Broverman (January 9, 2013), "What makes Tacoma rock: The out executive chef of one of Tacoma's best restaurants tells us why his city is indeed the gayest in the nation", The Advocate
  17. ^ Ron Swarner (March 1, 2014), "A taste of Smoke + Cedar in Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
  18. ^ "Classics cafe now open at LeMay Museum", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, June 6, 2012, archived from the original on June 12, 2015, retrieved May 13, 2015
  19. ^ Sue Kidd (August 29, 2014), "Brown cow, anyone? South Sound soda counters with fountain desserts of yesteryear", The News Tribune
  20. ^ Linda Hayes; Kelly J. Hayes (2014), "Pantheon: 40 names and lives that left their mark in making Aspen the iconic ski and cultural resort town we know today", Aspen Magazine, p. 79
  21. ^ Stewart Oksenhorn (February 28, 2008), "Syzygy: from imitation to invention", The Aspen Times