Meet Chris Binotto | Executive Chef/Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Binotto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, how did you come up with the idea for your business?

My newest company Embers & Ash was born out of my love of camping, cooking and the great outdoors. I’m always looking to elevate a good outdoor journey, so my chef friends and I have been taking trips and playing around with campfire cooking for years now, eventually getting into the teachings of chefs such as Francis Mallmann and Niklas Ekstedt. This was a great escape from fine dining cooking and the molecular gastronomy I had been used to. Something about creating that same type of elegance but cooking in such a primal method that takes you back to the beginning of how cooking began! During the beginning of the pandemic I was furlough and got really bored so I decided to marry my expertise in cooking with my love for the great outdoors and create a new pop up restaurant. Taking my Michelin Star pedigree and focusing it on a primordial style of cooking is what eventually blossomed into Embers & Ash. The company has been flourishing along with my other brand Cannabis Supper Club, were doing various pop up dinners and themed events throughout SoCal and have gotten some amazing accolades along the way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up in Detroit MI and started washing dishes at 15. I went to fine art school but I cooked to pay may way, by the time I graduated I realized food was the type of art I wanted to do! I knew very early on that I had to learn as much as I can as fast as I can to grow among the ranks and be where I wanted to be, especially because I didn’t attend culinary school. I was fortunate enough to work with a James Beard Award winning chef when I was young which gave me an amazing start. I moved around over the years for new experiences and learning opportunities constantly starting at the bottom and working my way back up! I won 2 Michelin stars with Chef Graham Elliott as his Chef Tournant and I won the Forbes Five Star Award as a Sous Chef for the Montage Laguna Beach. Every place I went throughout my career I started at the bottom and worked my way to sous chef eventually even becoming Chef De Cuisine for the Iron Chef Morimoto at his Chicago location. This all eventually lead to my first executive chef position and the launching of my first restaurant at age 28. None of this was ever easy but it has been the best damn adventure and life i could imagine. Even as the head Chef or Corporate Chef or even Owner the challenges never seece, it only gets harder and in new ways but i think that’s what separates the successful chefs, its the passion and perseverance, that willingness not to bitch about a challenge but to adapt and overcome in a timely manner, in a way so flawless that your guests would never know the controlled chaos that ensued in the back. The lessons ive learned along my journey have been infinite. The skills you learn in the kitchen can be adapted to all things in life, from organization and cleanliness to time management, quick problem solving, team management and interpersonal relations. these are all tools for success in and out of the kitchen.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Santa Monica boardwalk, get some shitty funnel cake and hit the roller coaster Huntington Beach, hit old DT and get some fish tacos and rainbows at Aloha bar n grill
hike Griffith park and the observatory – roast a bone
drive the Hollywood strip to weho, cause you don’t actually want to get out right
Shitty Dive Bars in Venice Beach- Scarlet Lady, Cozy Inn, and beach side Hinano
get baked at universal studios
food truck nights throughout the city

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Although I have worked under some brilliant chefs such as Graham Elliot and Iron Chef Morimoto I must accredit a chef most will probably never know, Chef Casey Overton formerly of the Montage Laguna Beach. Chef Casey took me under his wing for close to 4 years ultimately leading us to win the Forbes Five Star award and the hotel the Triple Five Star Award, one of six given world wide that year and is also to this date the only time the restaurant has won the award. His guidance, tutelage and compassion in and out of the kitchen has made me the leader I am today. Although we haven’t worked together since 2013 Chef Casey has continued to be a mentor and inspiration to me over the past 9 years and I will always work towards making him proud to pay him back for all he has invested in me. A chef that may need less of an introduction is the Detroit Legend, James Beard Award Winner Chef Jimmy Schmidt. He raised me in the kitchen and took me under his wing like a son, he started my incredible journey into culinary wizardry and for that I am eternally grateful.

Website: https://www.chefbinotto.com/

Instagram: @chef_binotto

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-binotto-78726b229/cs?trk=people-guest_people_search-card

Twitter: @embersandashco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChefCBinotto/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_WxPjN9eRIVguurAvL53Ow

Other: www.embersandash.co IG-@embersandash.co IG- @cannabissupperclub www.cannabissupperclub.com

Image Credits
Veny Okasinski