Gary Danko is an American chef. He combines French cuisine, Mediterranean, and American styles into his cooking. He is best known for his eponymous restaurant in San Francisco, California.
Early life
Danko was born in Massena, New York, his father was a
Hungarian people immigrant. His grandmother was Jewish and he grew up with Hungarian cooking with Jewish overtones.
Culinary development
Danko started cooking at the local Village Inn restaurant at age 14. By the time he graduated high school, he had been exposed to every position in the restaurant.
Danko completed his culinary education at the Hyde Park, New York campus of the Culinary Institute of America. He relocated to San Francisco in 1977 and worked as a waiter at the Waterfront Restaurant. Chef Danko returned to New York to enroll in
Madeleine Kamman's class at Peter Kump's New York Cooking School in 1983. In 1985, Danko became the executive chef at Beringer Vineyards. He later became the executive chef at Chateau Souverain in Sonoma County. In 1992 Danko left to become the chef of the Terrace restaurant at the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco. He was then appointed the executive chef of the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, S.F.
Ritz-Carlton. Gary opened his eponymous restaurant in 1999, and has won numerous awards, including a Michelin star first awarded in 2007.
Restaurants
In 1999, Danko created his own restaurant, named for himself, near Fisherman's Wharf. Gary Danko has also made appearances as the featured chef on the
Food Network and PBS. Restaurant Gary Danko has been a recipient of the
Wine Spectator Grand Award since 2001.
In 2002, the restaurant was designated one of 18 Relais & Chateaux properties in North America.
[ Relais & Chateaux - Gary Danko]
Food
Diners select from three, four or five prix-fixe menu courses. Danko's signature dishes include roast Maine lobster with white corn, tarragon, and chanterelles,
pancetta wrapped frog legs with garlic purée, and, before it was banned in California, roasted quail stuffed with mushrooms and foie gras. Most dishes are served year round, but ingredients are adjusted seasonally to emphasize local produce.
Awards and honors
|
|
| Best Chef-California |
| Best New Restaurant |
| First "Five Star" rating |
| Best New Restaurant |
| Chef of the Year |
| Nominated Outstanding Chef of the Year |
| Relais & Chateaux property |
| One Star Rating |
| Top Restaurant |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| Nominated Outstanding Chef of the Year |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
| One Star Rating |
In 2024, it lost the Michelin star it had held for 17 straight years.
External links
