Chris Cosentino

Growing up in Rhode Island, Chris Cosentino spent his time clamming, commercial fishing, and cranking the pasta machine in his great-grandmother’s kitchen. He was raised on a cuisine particular to parts of New England where Atlantic seafood, Yankee fare, and classic Italian cooking fuse into one colorful gastronomy. Creating good food was a family tradition, as Cosentino’s maternal ancestors, the Eastons, were the founders of Newport’s beloved Easton’s Sausage Company. Today, as executive chef and co-owner of San Francisco’s "Incanto," where he cooks in an earthy rustic Italian style, Cosentino is proving that a penchant for meats may just be hereditary. Cured, raw, or roasted; traditional cut or offal, meat is his muse. "Incanto’s" lauded charcuterie selection, all cured in-house, ranges from mortadella to fragrant fennel salame to a sweetbread terrine and an intense salt-cured pork liver. He also co-owns "Boccalone," known for its artisanal salumi. Cosentino has an abiding passion for offal, and features it on his daily changing menu as well as in an annual Head to Tail dinner, and in a Quarto Quinto, or fifth quarter tasting menu.

Yet this meat-loving chef does not ignore produce. California is a giant garden, he says, and indeed, he can be spotted at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza farmers market every Saturday morning, rain or shine. His curiosity does not stop at the farm, and Cosentino is an avid researcher of cooking techniques, equipment, and culinary lore through the ages, which he is eager to share with his customers. "Every day I have the opportunity to educate people, just as each day is ultimately an education for me," he says. His commitment extends beyond the kitchen into sustainable eating, eco-friendly living, and nutrition, reflecting his deep respect for the environment and well-being.

Cosentino’s formal education took place at Johnson and Wales. Upon graduation, he worked at Mark Miller’s "Red Sage" in Washington, DC. “This was the best first kitchen job I could have had,” he recalls, because he learned from Mark that food is deeply rooted in history and is not just something that a chef merely creates out of thin air. He credits Miller with sparking his love of reading and research through the access he gave him to his prodigious cookbook library. After "Red Sage," Cosentino worked at "Kinkead’s" before moving to San Francisco to work under Traci des Jardins at "Rubicon." He was then tapped to open "The Coach House" on Martha’s Vineyard. Cosentino returned to California to work briefly at "Chez Panisse," as well as the three-star "Belon" as sous chef, and as a chef/consultant at opening "Nob Hill" in Las Vegas.

In addition to spending time with his family, Cosentino’s other passion is endurance cycling. In between restaurant jobs, he was a professional cyclist, putting his single-speed mountain bike through its paces in 24-hour ultra endurance mountain bike races through some of the most punishing terrain in North America. Today, he takes his bike around Northern California’s mountainous terrain, always on the lookout for wild edibles.