Destiny Passion W H E N a n d C O L L I D E
Someone once told Michael Matarazzo to follow great chefs until one day
people would want to follow him. The last to say he’s at the top of his game,
the 2010 U.S.A's Chef of the Year™ is grateful to still be learning.
By Brent T. Frei
OLDER ACF members still sometimes
speak wistfully of the “young Turks” of
yesteryear—journeymen cooks fueled by
passion to gain knowledge and experience
in the kitchen. They worked in many different
kitchens over years to learn as much as
possible before ultimately leading brigades
of their own. Common in an era when
apprenticing ruled and a flood of professional
culinary-training programs wasn’t even on the
horizon, one seldom hears anyone referred to
as a “young Turk” anymore.
Michael Matarazzo, who won this year’s
U.S. A.’s Chef of the Year™ competition
and award at the 2010 ACF National
Convention in Anaheim, Calif., last month,
is one such “young Turk.”
At 30, Matarazzo, executive chef of Bear
Mountain Inn nestled in a state park in New
York’s Hudson Valley, has already achieved
more than many chefs who are half again his
age. What distinguishes Matarazzo among
chefs of his generation who have garnered
so much glory so soon is his humility. “I didn’t
expect this. I didn’t even prepare a speech,”
he said at the President’s Grand Ball after
