Wow! Thanks for the awesome response, everyone! After sorting through a ton of entries, we decided to nix our silly preference for in-state chefs…There are just too many adorable chefs out there for us to ignore, plus we were overwhelmed (and pleased as punch!) by the number of chef crushers spread across the country! Someday, we hope to be able to actually eat the food that these two up-and-coming talents create, but for now we’ll settle for the eloquent words of our wonderful readers. Without further ado, we present to you the winning nominations/entries of our first ever chef crush contest…
JONATHON SAWYER (Cleveland, OH)
Why he’s dreamy:
“I have an unbelievable crush on this chef! Not only is he magnificent in the kitchen, but he is a great father and a friend of the environment. We are in the process of opening The Greenhouse Tavern, the first green restaurant in Cleveland, and Chef Sawyer is also the partner at Bar Cento, a Roman enoteca in downtown Cleveland. I know that you asked for entries close to Oregon, and we are the opposite of that. But we are close in spirit.” ~CrushGirlAZS
Well we think he’s a total hottie, along with the rest of his kitchen crew. Plus, this is not the first time that Chef Sawyer has been brought to our attention. Now we can finally take him off our Unrequited Crushes page! The menus at both restaurants make us salivate, and it’s also unbelievably sexy when a chef chooses environmentally responsible practices like recycling and organic/local/sustainable food sourcing. Thanks, CGAZS! Your autographed copy of Simmer Down, a Gourmet Girl Mystery by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park, is on its way to you.
MATHIEU PALOMBINO (Brooklyn, NY)
Why he’s dreamy:
“He’s pretty far from Portland, but chef Mathieu Palombino is definitely my Number One Crush. Okay, he’s my husband, too, so I’m a little biased. Mathieu has worked in some serious kitchens in NYC- Bouley, Cello, Union Pacific, BLT Fish, etc.- and if you’re not much of a blinker, you may have seen him on “Iron Chef America” or (embarrassingly) “The Restaurant.” When it came time to open his own restaurant, though, he was set on doing some serious pizza- he’s also a trained pizzaiolo. Motorino will open in Williamsburg, Brooklyn next month, and I could not be more excited and happy for him. He’ll be cooking things other than Pizza Napoletana in his wood-fired oven, like eels, suckling pigs, and whole fish. My favorite part of the menu is, of course, his homemade gelato. He is also an amazing husband and father (that’s our son, Francesco, in the picture), and above anything else- culinary skills and all- THAT is why he’s my Chef Crush.” ~CrushGirlAP
So many things can give us a chef crush…Great food and a cute face are definitely the most obvious, but they’re certainly not the only reasons. Managing to be a good husband and father while maintaining chef’s hours is no small feat, and we salute all chef families for putting up with the craziness and keeping their cooking loved ones sane enough to feed us. We also hope that we’re going to be able to get a table at Motorino next time we’re back East, but based on the appeal of those menu items, we figure we might have to try and pull some strings. Hehehe. Thanks, CGAP! Your autographed copy of Turn Up The Heat, a Gourmet Girl Mystery by Susan Conant and Jessica Conant-Park, is on its way to you.
Thanks again to everyone who entered, and to authors Conant and Conant-Park for donating the prizes! Keep your eyes peeled for more cute cooks and fun contests in the future, and as always, keep those chef crush nominations coming!
