Dunea found a way of getting into the minds of those who have turned preparing food into a form of art in her book, My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals.
The answers reveal the passion and personalities of the most respected names in the business.
Some of the chefs featured are…
Ferran Adria
Born on 14 May in Barcelona, Spain, Ferran Adria is now considered one the best chefs in the world and tops the European Restaurant Ranking. Adria began his culinary career in 1980 as a dishwasher. The head chef at the hotel in Catalonia taught him traditional Spanish cuisine. He is well-known for creating culinary foam. In 1984, at the age of 22, Adria joined the kitchen staff El Bulli as a line cook, 18 months later he became headchef. El Bulli has 3 Michelin stars behind its name and is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world.
Michelle Bernstein
As a young, professional ballerina, Michelle Bernstein considered food the enemy. But the enemy won. She retired her toe shoes and enrolled in a nutrition course to feed her fascination with the “science of food,” how to eat and live healthfully. Chef Bernstein’s unique background as a Jewish-Latino woman informs her cooking. She has been featured in The New York Times, Bon Appéti for one of the 50 best dishes in the world, Elle, Redbook, Gourmet and Food & Wine for one of the best hotel restaurants in the country.
Athony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain was born in New York City in 1956. He studied at Vassar College and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America before running kitchens at some of New York City’s finest restaurants. Not only has he mastered the art of cooking, but he is also a well-accomplished author with two crime novels and numerous other titles under his belt. In 2002, a 22 part series was broadcast in which Bourdain travelled the world in search of ‘extreme cuisine’. The resulting book, A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal, became a bestseller in the US and the UK, and won the 2002 Guild of Food Writers Award for Food Book of the Year. He is currently the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles and lives in Manhattan.
Suzanne Goin
Suzanne Goin began her culinary career in 1984 when she interned in the pastry kitchen of the legendary restaurant Ma Maison as a high school senior. Leaving her native Los Angeles for Brown University late that year, she discovered the award-winning restaurant Al Forno and began her career in earnest. In September 1998, Suzanne opened Lucques restaurant in West Hollywood with partner Caroline Styne. By working closely with local farmers, Suzanne has come close to achieving her goal using only local and organic produce, as well as wild fish and naturally raised meats in her own brand of Mediterranean cooking. Suzanne was nominated for a prestigious James Beard award in 2003.
Gabrielle Hamilton
Gabrielle Hamilton is the chef/owner of Prune which she opened in New York City’s East Village in October 1999. She has written for Saveur magazine and Food & Wine and had the eight-week Chef’s Column in the New York Times. Prune was named in TIME OUT NY/2000 Top 100, Adam Platt’s “Where to Eat n 2003” in New York Magazine, and featured in Saveur 100 in 2001. New York Magazine also chose Prune for Best Brunch in 2002.
Giorgio Locatelli
Giorgio Locatelli is a well known Italian chef working in the United Kingdom. Locatelli was born in 1963 to a family that ran a Michelin-starred restaurant in Corgeno, Italy. He worked in Italy and Switzerland before arriving in the UK in 1986 to spend four years under Anton Edelmann at London’s Savoy hotel. In 1997 and 1998, Locatelli masterminded and opened the Spighetta and Spiga pizza and pasta restaurants. Anton Edelmann once described the flamboyant Locatelli as “probably the best Italian chef in London” and his appraisal is vindicated by the 30 or so awards and accolades Locatelli has collected in the past twelve years.
Buy My Last Supper on Kalahari.