Meet the Chef: John Ferraro
Executive chef, Canal Bar & Bistro on Second
Photo by Michael Donahue
Executive chef John Ferraro's style? A little mix of everything he's come in contact with.
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Title: Executive chef, Canal Bar & Bistro on Second
Age: 30
First cooking influence: I used to watch Julia Child all the time as a kid. She definitely got me thinking food was something fun to do. I wrote my first recipe when I was 4. It was a pot roast recipe. I couldn't even write. I just drew the pictures of what the different images were.
First thing you ever cooked or baked? For my mom's birthday I made her a five-course dinner. I was 8 years old. I did gazpacho, a spicy shrimp, some rice dish and a Grand Marnier chocolate mousse.
What made you decide to become a chef? It was something I said I wanted to do when I was a kid and then kind of forgot about it. I was in the Marines for five years. Came back, moved to Denver, and I was 3 miles from Johnston & Wales (University culinary arts program). I had just quit my job and I was like, 'If I want to do this, I've gotta do it right now.' The first day there I knew.
What was your first food-related job? I worked at D'Angelo's Sandwich Shop back in Boston.
What was something important that a fellow chef taught you? My friend Jimmy Cornwell from Cincinnati. He worked at the Maisonette. He taught me I can always get better.
What is the John Ferraro style? A little mix of everything I've come in contact with. I traveled a lot in the Marine Corps. So, I pulled a little Asian influence. I like their attention to details, small simple things. A lot of the low country stuff that I picked up down in South Carolina. And I always put a little Boston into it.
Describe a dish you created. For here I have a homemade chorizo. It's with Yukon gold potatoes and spinach. I make a hash. And then sirloin sliced thin, cooked mid-rare, veal demi-glace.
What do you cook or bake at home, if anything? I'm big into sausages and charcuterie. I'm actually trying to build a curing cabinet, so I can start curing my own.
What's your least favorite ingredient? Beets. At a restaurant I worked at in Cincinnati we had a huge beet tasting. I took all our leftovers and made an ice cream out of it and served it with a cheese board. It was like a spicy beet ice cream. That was delicious. But something about just a plain beet. ...
Contact Michael Donahue at 529-2797 or e-mail donahue@commercialappeal.com.
Canal Bar & Bistro on Second is in the Crowne Plaza hotel at 300 North Second; 312-2357.
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