He even does amazing things with a simple breadstick. But the race organizers try to get everybody off the mountain because the storms come in the early afternoon.2005 Best New Chef Bio Why Because he applies his technical mastery to a casual kind of cooking, featuring the bold flavors of Italy's Friuli region. Everyone’s suffering, of course, and wanting to lie down in the parking lot at the top. The race starts early and you get up to the top, and then they kick everyone off as fast as they can. It was 11 miles or so, climbing from 8,000 feet up to 14,000. I did the Mount Evans Hill Climb last year, along the highest paved road in the US, from Idaho Springs to the top of Mount Evans. What is your hidden talent? I cycle a lot. Once you have great training, the food part is the simplest part of running a restaurant.

They’re going to have their own restaurants some day, so I want them to understand that the economic challenge and the people challenge are the two hardest parts. We want people to know that there’s a consequence to a bad decision or disorganization. What is the most important skill you need to be a great chef? We teach our chefs to forget about the romance of running a restaurant. It’s simply the most organized and efficient and clean kitchen organization that exists anywhere.

It changed the way I think about a restaurant. Being particular about how things should look, how they’re placed, how things are washed. Thomas instilled the importance of organization and cleanliness. My other mentor was Thomas Keller at the French Laundry. The way a dish is practiced and built at its core is what works best. One element may taste interesting on its own or look interesting on the plate, but altogether the dish may not work. Some cooks are always trying to change things for the sake of innovation. The only way you get to that point is by practicing a dish over and over again. It has to be well executed and delicious. It doesn’t have to be complicated or different from the day before. But rather than just saying that you have to embrace mincing an onion every day, what you have to understand is that customers pay for the food. He taught me about practicing to get something right, as opposed to creativity for the sake of being creative. Who is your food mentor, and what is the most important thing you learned? When I was in Paris, I got to work with Benoît Guichard, the longtime chef de cuisine for Joël Robuchon. We created this elaborate scoring table, and judged all of the dishes on appearance and taste and plating and originality. We recently held a culinary competition with all of our chefs: Everyone had to choose a dish from that book, then make it in their own way with a touch of creativity or modernism. It’s currently out of print, but it’s an important inspiration. What is your favorite cookbook of all time? At Frasca we love Fred Plotkin’s cookbook La Terra Fortunata. What do you eat straight out of the fridge, standing up? My daughter’s Mini Babybel cheeses. You’ll also find lots of coconut water and Pellegrino Limonata. I like green juices seasoned with pineapple juice or mint or celery or apple. You can’t get that incredible flavor in something pasteurized. What will we always find in your fridge at home? I’m into cold-pressed juices like Suja. People tend to be enamored by that fresh, hot and spicy taste. That’s part of its allure: You’re taking something that people are familiar with, then doing a rendition that’s abundantly more fresh and flavorful, not mass-produced. People have never had anything quite like it. Ours is quite strong, because we use nice horseradish from the farmers and grate it ourselves. We serve it lots of ways: Raw on crudo, or with prosciutto on crostini, or mixed with grated apples and crème fraîche pickled with grilled or roasted meats. What is your secret-weapon ingredient? Horseradish. Frico means “fried” or “crispy” caldo means “hot.” We started serving it years ago, and now it’s become synonymous with Frasca. It celebrates Friuli’s king of cheeses, Montasio. It’s a kind of hash browns with potatoes, onions and cheese, whose roots lie in northeastern Italy and Friuli. F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Restaurants: Frasca Food & Wine (Boulder, CO) Pizzeria Locale (Denver and Boulder) Education: Ferrandi (Paris) What dish are you most famous for? Frico caldo.

Cranberry apple crumb cake