Suzette Gresham, also known as Suzette Gresham-Tognetti, is an American chef. She holds two

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

s at her restaurant

Acquerello Acquerello is a Michelin Guide-starred Italian restaurant in San Francisco, in the U.S. state of California. Acquerello, the Italian word for watercolor. Executive chef Suzette Gresham is also a co-owner. See also * List of Italian restaur ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Career

Suzette Gresham was hired to work as

head chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

at The Donatello, a hotel in

, by front of house manager Giancarlo Paterlini in 1988. This was the first head chef position for Gresham, who had previously worked for

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

. The hiring caused some surprise on her first day at the hotel, as the kitchen staff presumed that since she was female, that she was in fact the

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

. However, she found them respectful once they saw her work. The hotel's owners' finances were curtailed as a result of the savings and loan crisis in 1989. They left in 1989 to open Acquarello in the

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

area of the city, with Gresham again as head chef, and Paterlini running the front of house. The Donatello's owner, Mr Rossi, was angry at Gresham, who he accused of poaching Paterlini. Following two weeks of refitting, Acquarello was opened. Gresham ensured that there was a training environment in her kitchen, going as far as to assign additional homework to her staff on externships. She likes to leave out

cook book 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 cou ...

s for her staff to read, and offers to reimburse staff for books they have purchased. Acquarello was awarded a

in 2007, and in 2014 was awarded a second. This made Gresham one of three female chefs in the United States to hold two stars. After 24 years running Acquerello, Gresham and Paterlini opened a second restaurant in 2013. They named it 1760, after the location of the restaurant at 1760 Polk Street. While Gresham oversaw the food as chef patron, the head chef was Adam Tortosa. In 2020, the 1760 restaurant closed. In 2021, the same location of 1760 Polk Street was used to open a cocktail bar with small bites, Sorella. The Sorella’s culinary team includes the chef de cuisine, Denise St. Onge; and support from Seth Turiansky and Suzette Gresham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gresham, Suzette Living people American women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants American women restaurateurs American restaurateurs Year of birth missing (living people) Chefs from San Francisco 21st-century American women