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Chris Bianco

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Chris Bianco
Born
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
Known forItalian food
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)

  • * Pizzeria Bianco, Phoenix, Arizona (1993–present),
    * Pizzeria Bianco, Los Angeles, California (2022–present),
    * Tratto, Phoenix, Arizona,
    * Bar Bianco, Phoenix, Arizona,
    * Pane Bianco, Phoenix, Arizona
Award(s) won

Chris Bianco is an American James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur in Phoenix, Arizona.[1][2] He operates restaurants in Arizona and California.[3]

Early life

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Bianco was born in the Bronx in 1960, and grew up in Ossining, New York.[4][5] He had asthma as a child, forcing him to stay inside, where he watched his aunt cook.[4] At age 13 he began working at a local pizzeria. In 1985, he won two plane tickets anywhere in the United States and, on a whim, chose to go to Phoenix.[4] When he got there, he felt connected to the place. Bianco took chef's jobs in Italy and Santa Fe, N.M, and returned to Phoenix in 1993.[6]

Culinary career

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Bianco began making mozzarella in his apartment and selling it to Italian restaurants.[4] Later, Guy Coscos, a specialty grocer in Phoenix offered him the opportunity to make and sell pizzas in the corner of his store.[4] Bianco's pizza was popular and he realized he could make pizza for a living.

Bianco opened Pizzeria Bianco with business partner Susan Pool, in 1993.[6] In 1996, the restaurant moved to 623 East Adams Street, the historic site of Baird Machine Shop in Heritage Square.

In 2010, Bianco was hospitalized due to a severe asthma attack and pneumonia.[7] The reason was years of exposure to airborne flour and smoke from making pizza, which caused him to pivot away from pizza-only restaurants and toward pasta.[7] Bianco also operates Bar Bianco, Tratto, and Pane Bianco, located in Midtown Phoenix.[1][7]

In September 2022, Bianco was featured in the Netflix documentary series Chef's Table: Pizza.[8]

Awards

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Bianco's first James Beard Award nomination was in 2000, and he won the James Beard Award in 2003, when he was the first pizzaiolo to be named Best Chef Southwest.[9]

In 2022, Bianco was named Outstanding Restaurateur by the James Beard Foundation, the industry’s highest award.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Yee, Natasha. "Breadwinner: Chris Bianco Reflects on Life, Pizza, and Family After His Second James Beard Award". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  2. ^ Kang, Matthew (2022-02-22). "After Years of Promises, Chris Bianco Is Finally Opening Pizzeria Bianco in LA". Eater LA. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  3. ^ Brody, Lanae (2022-09-09). "Jimmy Kimmel's Friend Chef Chris Bianco Says His New LA Pizzeria Means 'I Get to See More Jimmy'". People Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  4. ^ a b c d e Levine, E. "The road to pizza nirvana goes through Phoenix", The New York Times, 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  5. ^ "Chris Bianco- Wiki, Age, Height, Net Worth, Wife, Marriage, Career". NewsTimes. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
  6. ^ a b "Who's Who: Chris Bianco". www.pizzamarketplace.com. 2003-06-24. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  7. ^ a b c Anderson, Brett (2016-10-18). "A Legendary Pizza Maker Steps Away From the Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  8. ^ Duda, Jessica Boehm,Jeremy (2022-08-31). "This Phoenix pizza maker is going to be on Netflix's "Chef's Table"". Axios. Retrieved 2022-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Chris Bianco: Still Humble After Earning Top James Beard Award - PMQ Pizza Magazine". www.pmq.com. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
  10. ^ Harris, Jen (2022-09-05). "Grieving the loss of a friend — and remembering, with pizza". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
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