Gordon Naccarato

Gordon Naccarato (born 1954) is an award-winning chef and restaurateur from Tacoma, Washington.

Gordon Naccarato
Gordon Naccarato in 2008
Born1954 (age 66–67)[1]
Tacoma, Washington
EducationStadium High School, University of Washington, Loyola Law School
Culinary career
Websitewww.pacificgrilltacoma.com

Education and early life

Naccarato was born in Tacoma,[2] and grew up in the Tacoma area. He is the son of Stan Naccarato, a vice-president of the Tacoma Stars soccer team, and a restaurant owner.[3][4]

He graduated from Stadium High School in 1972,[4] and then attended the University of Washington. He met his wife Rebecca, also from Washington, while living in Washington.[5][6] After UW, he attended Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University for two years, then dropped out in 1977.[4][5][6]

Restaurant career

Naccarato started working for Michael's in Santa Monica in 1979.[7] While there, he received Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 1988.[8]

Gordon Naccarato and his wife Rebecca Naccarato opened Gordon's Restaurant and Rebecca's Bakery in Aspen, Colorado in 1984.[6][9][10]

Naccarato and his wife were divorced; she worked at a grill in Kirkland and opened a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990;[11] and he moved back to Tacoma in July 2001,[2][12] after working under Mark Peel of Campanile and in other Los Angeles restaurants including Monkey Bar and Le Colonial in the 1990s.[13][14][15] He started the Beach House restaurant in Purdy in 2002.[4]

In Tacoma, Naccarato is president of Naccarato Restaurant Group, which operates Pacific Grill.[16] He opened Smoke + Cedar restaurant in 2014.[4][17] The Classics Cafe at America's Car Museum is owned by Naccarato.[18] His brother Steve opened Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma.[2][19]

In September 2020, Naccarato announced the closure of the Naccarato Restaurant Group permanently closing Pacific Grill restaurant and Pacific Grill Events & Catering. The reasoning was due to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on business.[20]

Awards and recognition

In addition to the Best New Chef 1988 award noted above, Naccarato was named by Aspen Magazine in 2014 as one of 40 individuals creating modern Aspen, a former "culinary wasteland".[21]

Other chefs have noted the influence Naccarato had on their expression.[22]

Personal life

Naccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013.[16]

References
  1. https://greatchefs.com/chef/gordon-naccarato-pacific-grill/
  2. "Starting a Successful Restaurant in Tacoma with Chef Gordon Naccarato", Move to Tacoma (podcast), March 25, 2015, Episode 004
  3. Sandra McKee (January 28, 1992), "Naccarato takes on Foreman, getting lukewarm support at best", The Baltimore Sun
  4. "Chef profile: Gordon Naccarato and his new Tacoma restaurant, Smoke & Cedar", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, March 7, 2014
  5. Colman Andrews (September 27, 1987), "Where Aspen's Elite Meet", The Los Angeles Times
  6. Marian Burros (March 2, 1988), "One the road a restaurant's staff finds culinary inspiration", The New York Times
  7. Angela Jossy (May 10, 2007), "Pacific Grill: Chef to the stars brings expertise to Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
  8. Frank Guanco (Apr 2, 2015), "The Food & Wine Best New Chefs Of Seattle", Seattle Refined, KOMO News
  9. Marian Burros (June 12, 1987), "Visiting chefs do the town", The New York Times
  10. Gael Greene (27 July 1987). True West. New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. pp. 46–48. ISSN 0028-7369.
  11. Larry Brown (September 11, 1991), "Sister-Brother Entrepreneurs", The Seattle Times
  12. "Q&A: Gordon Naccarato of Pacific Grill", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, November 30, 2012
  13. "Tacoma's most sexy chef: Gordon Naccarato", The Weekly Volcano, Lakewood, Washington, March 2010 – via Northwest Military
  14. "Six degrees of Campanile chefs", The Los Angeles Times, September 29, 2012
  15. "Lettuce Cups", The Los Angeles Times, May 27, 1999
  16. Neal Broverman (January 9, 2013), "What makes Tacoma rock: The out executive chef of one of Tacoma's best restaurants tells us why his city is indeed the gayest in the nation", The Advocate
  17. Ron Swarner (March 1, 2014), "A taste of Smoke + Cedar in Tacoma", Northwest Military, Lakewood, Washington
  18. "Classics cafe now open at LeMay Museum", The News Tribune, Tacoma, Washington, June 6, 2012, archived from the original on June 12, 2015, retrieved May 13, 2015
  19. Sue Kidd (August 29, 2014), "Brown cow, anyone? South Sound soda counters with fountain desserts of yesteryear", The News Tribune
  20. Misciagna, Vanessa (September 14, 2020), Two of Tacoma's flagship restaurants are closing because of the pandemic, owners say: Pacific Grill and The Swiss are closing for good after years as staples in the community., Seattle: KING-TV
  21. Linda Hayes; Kelly J. Hayes (2014), "Pantheon: 40 names and lives that left their mark in making Aspen the iconic ski and cultural resort town we know today", Aspen Magazine, p. 79
  22. Stewart Oksenhorn (February 28, 2008), "Syzygy: from imitation to invention", The Aspen Times
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