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Chef Chris Albano - courtesy Pique Newsmagazine Whistler, BC

My Name is Chris Albano and I have been a working chef for over 20 years. I was born in Springfield Massachusetts, a city 90 miles west of Boston and 30 miles north of Hartford Connecticut.

I can even remember my earliest real cooking test in Home Economics class in sixth grade. The foursome of students I worked with had to select a final cooking assignment. We looked in our textbook for the most appealing picture or recipe and came up with a flank steak roulade with roasted potatoes. Certainly not a gourmet feat presently, but for eleven or twelve year old kids it was the Mount Everest of Culinary achievements. The result wasn’t the real award as opposed to the road to the final accomplishment. As I would learn later in life, restaurant cooking is a lot like sports you have competition, have to have endurance, and have to be a team player to be a winner. When Charlie Palmer from Aureole Restaurant visited our table one night for dinner, he seemed larger than life. A stocky, rugged football veteran who appeared to tower over our table like he was twelve feet tall.

After culinary school I became fascinated with my native Italian foods, but early on was also obsessed with Asian and new flavors from around the globe. The only way to really learn about flavors is immerse yourself in their cultures and try and soak it all up. I have been fortunate enough to work around the USA, in the Caribbean and in Canada. Each place I go I like to try all the favorites of the locals and try some of the creations of the top chefs.

I always try to inspire young chefs who work with me, students who take my cooking classes, and anyone who wants to learn from my experience, tradition and taste. Some things have come out of tradition and others from peoples personal tastes, you have to find your own medium and run with it.

warm memories at the stove and at the table

for more info check my blog @ Http://chefalbano.blogspot.com