Chris Bianco
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Chris Bianco | |
|---|---|
| Born | The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Known for | Italian food |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
Award(s) won
| |
Chris Bianco is an American James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur in Phoenix, Arizona.[1][2] He operates restaurants in Arizona and California.[3]
Early life[edit]
Bianco was born in the Bronx in 1960, and grew up in Ossining, New York.[4][5] He had asthma as a child, forcing him to stay inside, where he watched his aunt cook.[4] At age 13 he began working at a local pizzeria. In 1985, he won two plane tickets anywhere in the United States and, on a whim, chose to go to Phoenix.[4] When he got there, he felt connected to the place. Bianco took chef's jobs in Italy and Santa Fe, N.M, and returned to Phoenix in 1993.[6]
Culinary career[edit]
Bianco began making mozzarella in his apartment and selling it to Italian restaurants.[4] Later, Guy Coscos, a specialty grocer in Phoenix offered him the opportunity to make and sell pizzas in the corner of his store.[4] Bianco's pizza was popular and he realized he could make pizza for a living.
Bianco opened Pizzeria Bianco with business partner Susan Pool, in 1993.[6] In 1996, the restaurant moved to 623 East Adams Street, the historic site of Baird Machine Shop in Heritage Square.
In 2010, Bianco was hospitalized due to a severe asthma attack and pneumonia.[7] The reason was years of exposure to airborne flour and smoke from making pizza, which caused him to pivot away from pizza-only restaurants and toward pasta.[7] Bianco also operates Bar Bianco, Tratto, and Pane Bianco, located in Midtown Phoenix.[1][7]
In September 2022, Bianco was featured in the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table: Pizza.[8]
Awards[edit]
Bianco's first James Beard Award nomination was in 2000, and he won the James Beard Award in 2003, when he was the first pizzaiolo to be named Best Chef Southwest.[9]
In 2022, Bianco was named Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation, the industry’s highest award.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Yee, Natasha. "Breadwinner: Chris Bianco Reflects on Life, Pizza, and Family After His Second James Beard Award". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ Kang, Matthew (2022-02-22). "After Years of Promises, Chris Bianco Is Finally Opening Pizzeria Bianco in LA". Eater LA. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ Brody, Lanae (2022-09-09). "Jimmy Kimmel's Friend Chef Chris Bianco Says His New LA Pizzeria Means 'I Get to See More Jimmy'". People Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ a b c d e Levine, E. "The road to pizza nirvana goes through Phoenix", The New York Times, 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ "Chris Bianco- Wiki, Age, Height, Net Worth, Wife, Marriage, Career". NewsTimes. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
- ^ a b "Who's Who: Chris Bianco". www.pizzamarketplace.com. 2003-06-24. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ a b c Anderson, Brett (2016-10-18). "A Legendary Pizza Maker Steps Away From the Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ Duda, Jessica Boehm,Jeremy (2022-08-31). "This Phoenix pizza maker is going to be on Netflix's "Chef's Table"". Axios. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Chris Bianco: Still Humble After Earning Top James Beard Award - PMQ Pizza Magazine". www.pmq.com. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ Harris, Jen (2022-09-05). "Grieving the loss of a friend — and remembering, with pizza". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
External links[edit]
- Chris Bianco at IMDb
