Scott Conant (born February 19, 1971) is an American

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

, and

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. Since 2009, Conant has been a judge on the reality cooking television series ''

Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...

''. He has published four cookbooks.

Early life

Conant was born in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

. He is the son of Charles and Anne ( Varrone) Conant. He is of Italian descent on his mother's side. He began cooking at a young age, taking cooking classes at the local community college at age 11. At 15, he enrolled in W.F. Kaynor Technical High School for culinary arts, and then attended the

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

(CIA).

Professional career

While at the Culinary Institute of America, Conant interned at the famous New York City restaurant San Domenico, an experience that had a decisive impact on the young chef. After graduation, he spent a year in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany, mastering the art of pastry at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof. He returned to the United States and San Domenico, working as a

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command in a kitchen; the person ranking next after the head chef, usually the more hands on manager with regards to training staff and organising the kitchen. Duties and functions The sous-chef has many re ...

. In 1995, Cesare Casella selected him to be chef de cuisine at Il Toscanaccio, an

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

Tuscan-style restaurant. He later became executive chef at City Eatery, located on the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th Street in the north.Jackson, Kenneth L. "B ...

in New York City. In September 2002, Conant opened L'Impero in

Tudor City Tudor City is an apartment complex located on the southern edge of Turtle Bay on the East Side of Manhattan in New York City, near Turtle Bay's border with Murray Hill. It lies on a low cliff, which is east of Second Avenue between 40th and ...

. Within weeks, the restaurant received a rave three-star review from ''The New York Times'', which stated, " onant isturning out dishes full of flavors that are joyous and highly refined. From the simplest preparations to the most complex, he is almost always in control and in tune." Conant's signature pastas appeared on the cover of ''Food & Wine'', and the magazine went on to name Conant one of America's "Best New Chefs" in 2004. L'Impero received top honors from the James Beard Foundation in 2003, including “Best New Restaurant” in the U.S. and “Outstanding Restaurant Design.” In October 2003, Conant was featured on the cover of ''Gourmet'' for its “Chefs Rock” issue, and in March 2004, ''Gourmet'' editor Ruth Reichl named L'Impero one of her favorite New York restaurants. Following L'Impero, Conant went on to open Alto, a "sophisticated" Italian restaurant in midtown Manhattan that offered his interpretation of Northern Italian cuisine. Conant left L'Impero and Alto in 2007 and, in 2008, opened Scarpetta in

Chelsea, Manhattan Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northern b ...

. In July 2008, the restaurant garnered a positive three-star review from ''The New York Times'' and ''New York Magazine''. Conant went on to build the Scarpetta brand to national acclaim with restaurants in New York City, Miami, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas and published ''The Scarpetta Cookbook'', inspired by dishes from the restaurant. In July 2010, the reality food-competition television show ''24 Hour Restaurant Battle'' premiered on the Food Network, starring Conant as the host and head judge. The television show pits two teams of two people against each other as they open up a restaurant from scratch in 24 hours. The show ran two seasons. In 2021, Conant released his fourth cookbook, ''Peace, Love, and Pasta: Simple and Elegant Recipes from a Chef's Home Kitchen''.

Personal life

Conant has been married to his wife, Meltem (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Bozkurt) since 2007. The couple has two daughters.

Filmography

Awards

* Three Stars from ''The New York Times'' for "L'Impero" and "Scarpetta New York" * Four Stars from ''Miami Herald'' for "Scarpetta Miami" * "Best New Restaurant of 2003" from the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

for "L'Impero" * "Best New Chef" from ''Food & Wine Magazine'' in 2004 * Winner of Season 3 of "Chopped All-Stars"

Cookbooks

* ''Scott Conant's New Italian Cooking'' (2005), * ''Bold Italian'' (2008), * ''The Scarpetta Cookbook'' (2013), * ''Peace, Love, & Pasta'' (2021),

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conant, Scott 1971 births American male chefs American television chefs American writers of Italian descent Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni Food Network chefs Living people Writers from Waterbury, Connecticut Writers from New York City American cookbook writers American restaurateurs 21st-century American non-fiction writers ja:マリオ・バターリ