Gordon Naccarato (born 1954) is a chef and restaurateur from Tacoma, Washington.
Gordon Naccarato | |
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 Gordon Naccarato in 2008 | |
| Born | 1954 (age 69–70)[1] |
| Education | Stadium High School, University of Washington, Loyola Law School |
| Culinary career | |
Previous restaurant(s)
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Award(s) won
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| Website | www |
Education and early life
editNaccarato 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
editNaccarato started his restaurateur career as a chef 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 granted a divorce, with Rebecca employed at a grill in Kirkland and later opening a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990.[11]
Gordon 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]
In September 2020, Naccarato announced the closure of the Naccarato Restaurant Group permanently closing Pacific Grill restaurant and Pacific Grill Events & Catering. The reasoning was due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business.[20]
Awards and recognition
editIn 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".[21]
Other chefs have noted the influence Naccarato had on their expression.[22]
Personal life
editNaccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Gordon Naccarato & Pacific Grill".
- ^ a b c "Starting a Successful Restaurant in Tacoma with Chef Gordon Naccarato", Move to Tacoma (podcast), March 25, 2015, Episode 004
- ^ Sandra McKee (January 28, 1992), "Naccarato takes on Foreman, getting lukewarm support at best", The Baltimore Sun
- ^ a b c d e "Chef profile: Gordon Naccarato and his new Tacoma restaurant, Smoke & Cedar", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, March 7, 2014
- ^ a b Colman Andrews (September 27, 1987), "Where Aspen's Elite Meet", The Los Angeles Times
- ^ a b c Marian Burros (March 2, 1988), "One the road a restaurant's staff finds culinary inspiration", The New York Times
- ^ Angela Jossy (May 10, 2007), "Pacific Grill: Chef to the stars brings expertise to Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
- ^ Frank Guanco (Apr 2, 2015), "The Food & Wine Best New Chefs Of Seattle", Seattle Refined, KOMO News
- ^ Marian Burros (June 12, 1987), "Visiting chefs do the town", The New York Times
- ^ Gael Greene (27 July 1987). "True West". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. pp. 46–48. ISSN 0028-7369.
- ^ Larry Brown (September 11, 1991), "Sister-Brother Entrepreneurs", The Seattle Times
- ^ "Q&A: Gordon Naccarato of Pacific Grill", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, November 30, 2012
- ^ "Tacoma's most sexy chef: Gordon Naccarato", The Weekly Volcano, Lakewood, Washington, March 2010 – via Northwest Military
- ^ "Six degrees of Campanile chefs", The Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2012
- ^ "Lettuce Cups", The Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1999
- ^ 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
- ^ Ron Swarner (March 1, 2014), "A taste of Smoke + Cedar in Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
- ^ "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
- ^ Sue Kidd (August 29, 2014), "Brown cow, anyone? South Sound soda counters with fountain desserts of yesteryear", The News Tribune
- ^ Misciagna, Vanessa (September 14, 2020), Two of Tacoma's flagship restaurants are closing because of the pandemic, owners say: Pacific Grill and The Swiss are closing for good after years as staples in the community., Seattle: KING-TV
- ^ 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
- ^ Stewart Oksenhorn (February 28, 2008), "Syzygy: from imitation to invention", The Aspen Times