As a child, Christopher Gotreau would help his father around the kitchen, pulling stems off mushrooms, cracking eggs, and peeling and sorting potatoes. He would spend hours hanging around the kitchen, asking questions and picking up the basics needed for the art of cooking.
Unlike most children, this was in the kitchen of the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston.
He was helping professional chefs and cooks create gourmet meals. And, he was only 3-years-old, about the same age his father was when he began learning the culinary skills.
When asked if his son always wanted to be a chef, Steve Gotreau, general manager of Holiday Valley Food and Beverage, jokingly said that he doesn’t believe his son had any choice in the matter.
Steve said that he opened his own restaurant after he left the Seaport World Trade Center, and that Chris was employed at the restaurant while he was in high school.
Chris later worked in a Mexican restaurant, attended the Culinary Institute of America, worked as a chef at the Aujourd’hui at the Four Seasons in Boston, The Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowe Wharf, Bice at Universal Studios in Florida, and Boston’s Legal Sea Foods, Steve said.
He added that his son has recently taken the job of Director of Operations for a new gourmet casual dining burger chain based in Boston called Tasty Burger, with plans to open five or six restaurants in the near future. Tasty Burger is a part of the Franklin Restaurant Group, which includes casual and fine dining establishments.
He said Chris’ duties include developing menus and menu items, as well as developing protocols and procedures for the chain.
His son recently had the honor of taking part in the James Beard House’s dinner in Manhattan, along with three other chefs from the Franklin Restaurant Group. Top chefs from around the world were invited to create dishes for the event’s guests at the culinary extravaganza, which was held a few days before Christmas.
Steve attended the event, and describes it as the Grammy’s of Cooking, along with Peter Kreinheder, owner of The Ellicottville Brewing Company. Chris’ menu featured a number of exotic dishes, including Truffled Ricotta and Thyme Honey on Pine Nut Shortbread, Gloucester Cod Cakes with Persillade, Potato Meringue, and Lemon, Smoked Nantucket Bay Scallops with Cockle Butter and Laurel, and Roast Monkfish Saddle with Poached Rock Lobster, Root Vegetables, and Tubers.
James Beard was a cookbook author and teacher who helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiast. He was a champion of American cuisine, and the James Beard Foundation continues to educate, inspire, entertain, and foster a deeper understanding of culinary culture by offering a variety of events and programs.
