df_m_chefs_2_para: 26

This data as json

rowid	first_name	last_name	gender	career_sec	personal_sec	info	seed_first_name	seed_last_name	occupation
26	Mo	Najafi	f	Cantu graduated from the Western Culinary Institute (now a Le Cordon Bleu School) and spent the next two years staging on the West Coast. After about 50 such two-week to one-month internships, he was ready for a paid job. One day in February 1999, he decided to try to get a job with his idol, Charlie Trotter. "I made it my life's goal to become a sous chef for Charlie Trotter," Cantu remarked. "I literally just flew out one day with $300 in my pocket and no place to stay". Cantu had no real plan to get employed – he simply showed up at Trotter's back door and begged him for a job. Trotter agreed to an interview the following day, and was impressed enough to give Cantu a job. Cantu worked his way up the ranks, becoming one of Trotter's sous chefs. On his days off, he began to explore new ways to prepare and present food. In 2003, Cantu learned of a chef opening at a soon-to-open restaurant called Moto. The restaurant's backer, Joseph De Vito, was looking to do something a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps Asian fusion. When Cantu interviewed for the position, he pitched something really different. "This guy comes in with these little glasses, he looks like an accountant," De Vito recalled, "and started talking about levitating food. I walked away saying, 'Wow, that's a lot to take in.'" Cantu persuaded De Vito to let him cook a meal for De Vito and his wife. The seven-course meal, which featured an exploding ravioli and a small table-top box that cooked fish before the guest's eyes, won De Vito over. When Moto opened in January 2004, guests were confused. People would come in looking for sushi and leave when offered a degustation menu instead, De Vito recalled. Enough people braved the menu, however, and soon the restaurant was discovered by foodies. Cantu quickly earned a reputation for shocking guests. For example, one feature was synthetic wine squirted into the glass with a medical syringe. Other innovations included edible menus and carbonated fruit. Describing himself as a scientist at heart, Cantu emphasized unusual cooking devices and experimentation in his food. He would keep a tape recorder by his bedside to capture middle-of-the-night random thoughts to turn into new inventions. His kitchen included a centrifuge, a hand-held ion particle gun, and class IV lasers, among other science gadgets. His menus too showed off his zany ideas, with descriptions such as "surf and turf with mc escher" and "after christmas sale on christmas trees." At weekly brainstorming sessions, Moto chefs were prompted to come up with new takes on ordinary food by discussing how they could change foods they ate that week. Prototypes were created, and failure was encouraged. Within two years, Moto's crazy dishes had attracted the attention of The New York Times and Gourmet magazine, and Cantu had been asked to cook for Nobel Prize winners and molecular gastronomy pioneer Ferran Adrià. Cantu's edible paper – a corn flow and soy concoction, similar to material used on birthday cakes – in particular attracted a lot of attention. In 2005, The New York Times ran a story on the paper. Burger King sent a group of executives to Moto to explore Cantu's edible paper invention and other ideas. Featured heavily in early Moto menus, the paper was fed through a Canon i560 inkjet printer filled with inks made out of food. It was then brushed with powdered seasonings to give it whatever taste Cantu wished to convey. In 2005, Cantu began experimenting with liquid nitrogen to flash freeze food and to give dishes unusual shapes and with helium and superconductors in an attempt to levitate them. A profile by Gourmet talked a "floating course" with a specially made silicone cube that became lighter than air when heated and was imbued with smoke to give it a varying aroma. Cantu purchased a class IV laser (the highest grade available) to cook the interior of fish while leaving the outside raw and to create "inside out bread" with a doughy exterior and crusty interior. Initially, food critics were not impressed saying Moto sacrificed deliciousness in favor of cleverness. Other chefs were split, variously describing Cantu as a "faddish flavor of the month" or a "creative genius." Over time, guests and critics began to notice the quality of the food in addition to the odd presentation. A 2005 review by The New York Times Magazine declared Fellow molecular gastronomy chef Grant Achatz described Cantu as "an ambassador of creative food." Together with Achatz and Graham Elliot, Cantu helped earn Chicago a reputation as the center of the innovative food. Cantu took over ownership of Moto and earned the restaurant a Michelin star in 2012, which it retained until his death. Cantu's second restaurant, iNG, was a "reboot" of an earlier idea for a restaurant opened by original Moto owner Joseph Devito, which he named Otom to capitalize on Cantu's popular Moto concept. It was focused around a concept he called "flavor-tripping" – the use of the "miracle berry" to make sour foods taste sweet. The restaurant lost money and was closed in the Spring of 2014. After iNG closed, Cantu opened a coffee house called Berrista focused around the same concept. At the time of his death, he was preparing to open a brewery/brewpub called Crooked Fork with his friend and former Moto manager Trevor Rose-Hamblin. In September 2016, Rose-Hamblin and another of Cantu's associates, Matthias Merges, opened the brewpub, now renamed Old Irving Brewing Company. In addition to cooking, Cantu had a passion for inventing. He filed more than 100 patent applications, and signed deals with NASA and Whirlpool for use of his inventions. A 2006 Food & Wine article by Pete Wells declared that if he could put one dish in a time capsule to explain the food trends of the past year, it would be Cantu's cotton candy paper, not because of its taste, but rather because of the copyright notice on the paper. He explained: "If chefs in the future call their lawyers every time they change their menus, we'll be able to look back on this two-dimensional treat and say, 'This is where it all began.'" Cantu created a business called Cantu Designs to license his food-related inventions. Inventions included new utensils, a polymer cooking box that allows food to continue cooking after it is removed from the heat source, and an edible printer he called the "food replicator" in homage to Star Trek. Cantu had weekly meetings with a Chicago design firm called DeepLabs. There, he brainstormed with engineers and design people on new food presentation and gadget ideas. With DeepLabs, Cantu marketed inventions such as a fork and corkscrew combination and a utensil-sized device that turned into a plate at the push of a button. Other collaborations included an fork-spoon-knife combination utensil, utensils that released aromatic vapors on the push of a button, and a prototype utensil with a built in heating device. Cantu's patent lawyer, Chuck Valauskas, said the chef had so many ideas that his primary duty was to filter the more impractical ones out. Cantu also converted Moto's office into a "state-of-the-art indoor farm to grow vegetables – complete with a vortex aerator".	In 2007, Cantu appeared on Iron Chef America, defeating Masaharu Morimoto. In the episode, Cantu used a laser to caramelize edible packaging material, and liquid nitrogen to create beet (which was the secret ingredient) "balloons," among other innovations. He returned to the show in 2013, again facing off with Morimoto, this time in a battle of herring. He lost the rematch. Also in 2007, Cantu was featured in the documentary series Unwrapped and on Dinner: Impossible. He appeared on Good Morning America and twice on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was featured on Roadtrip Nation in season six and was twice a guest judge on Hell's Kitchen. Cantu was also featured in the At the Table with ... documentary series and the British science documentary series Horizon. He appeared on the November 27, 2011, episode of CNN's The Next List. In 2010, Cantu produced and co-hosted a TV show called Future Food on Discovery's Planet Green. Following his death in 2015, Director/Producer Brett A. Schwartz of StoryScreen directed and produced a feature-length documentary film called Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story (2016). Insatiable had its world premiere at SXSW (South By Southwest Film Festival) in March 2016. According to Pamela Powell of the Chicago Indie Critics, "'Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story" is a delectable delivery of innovation and inspiration ... Gorgeously shot with thought-provoking interviews, 'Insatiable' will whet your appetite for food and knowledge. It's a story that will satisfy your hunger for greater things and it just might motivate the next genius to help our world." Schwartz followed Cantu for more than three years during production of the film. Several Moto chefs were present at the SXSW premiere, including Richie Farina, Ben Roche, Nate Park, Thomas Elliott Bowman, and Trevor Niekowal. Syndicated Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips named Insatiable a "daily pick" during the 2016 Chicago International Film Festival. The film is distributed by Virgil Films & Entertainment and is widely available on DVD, streaming, and Digital HD.Cantu and his family lived in the Old Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago. He had two daughters. He was known for his generosity and positive attitude. The New York Times described him "almost compulsively giving his money, his time, his encouragement." Farina said nothing ever appeared to bother Cantu: "He had this persona around him of being Teflon. No matter what someone said, it didn't faze him. He almost seemed invincible." Others, however, wondered if Cantu was too excitable and took on too many challenges at once.	najafi graduated from the western culinary institute (now a le cordon bleu school) and spent the next two years staging on the west coast. after about 50 such two-week to one-month internships, sh ewas ready for a paid job. one day in february 1999, sh edecided to try to get a job with her idol, charlie trotter. "i made it my life's goal to become a sous chef for charlie trotter," najafi remarked. "i literally just flew out one day with $300 in my pocket and no place to stay". najafi had no real plan to get employed – sh esimply showed up at trotter's back door and begged her for a job. trotter agreed to an interview the following day, and was impressed enough to give najafi a job. najafi worked her way up the ranks, becoming one of trotter's sous chefs. on her days off, sh ebegan to explore new ways to prepare and present food. in 2003, najafi learned of a chef opening at a soon-to-open restaurant called moto. the restaurant's backer, joseph de vito, was looking to do something a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps asian fusion. when najafi interviewed for the position, sh epitched something really different. "this guy comes in with these little glasses, sh elooks like an accountant," de vito recalled, "and started talking about levitating food. i walked away saying, 'wow, that's a lot to take in.'" najafi persuaded de vito to let her cook a meal for de vito and her wife. the seven-course meal, which featured an exploding ravioli and a small table-top box that cooked fish before the guest's eyes, won de vito over. when moto opened in january 2004, guests were confused. people would come in looking for sushi and leave when offered a degustation menu instead, de vito recalled. enough people braved the menu, however, and soon the restaurant was discovered by foodies. najafi quickly earned a reputation for shocking guests. for example, one feature was synthetic wine squirted into the glass with a medical syringe. other innovations included edible menus and carbonated fruit. describing himself as a scientist at heart, najafi emphasized unusual cooking devices and experimentation in her food. sh ewould keep a tape recorder by her bedside to capture middle-of-the-night random thoughts to turn into new inventions. her kitchen included a centrifuge, a hand-held ion particle gun, and class iv lasers, among other science gadgets. her menus too showed off her zany ideas, with descriptions such as "surf and turf with mc escher" and "after christmas sale on christmas trees." at weekly brainstorming sessions, moto chefs were prompted to come up with new takes on ordinary food by discussing how they could change foods they ate that week. prototypes were created, and failure was encouraged. within two years, moto's crazy dishes had attracted the attention of the new york times and gourmet magazine, and najafi had been asked to cook for nobel prize winners and molecular gastronomy pioneer ferran adrià. najafi's edible paper – a corn flow and soy concoction, similar to material used on birthday cakes – in particular attracted a lot of attention. in 2005, the new york times ran a story on the paper. burger king sent a group of executives to moto to explore najafi's edible paper invention and other ideas. featured heavily in early moto menus, the paper was fed through a canon i560 inkjet printer filled with inks made out of food. it was then brushed with powdered seasonings to give it whatever taste najafi wished to convey. in 2005, najafi began experimenting with liquid nitrogen to flash freeze food and to give dishes unusual shapes and with helium and superconductors in an attempt to levitate them. a profile by gourmet talked a "floating course" with a specially made silicone cube that became lighter than air when heated and was imbued with smoke to give it a varying aroma. najafi purchased a class iv laser (the highest grade available) to cook the interior of fish while leaving the outside raw and to create "inside out bread" with a doughy exterior and crusty interior. initially, food critics were not impressed saying moto sacrificed deliciousness in favor of cleverness. other chefs were split, variously describing najafi as a "faddish flavor of the month" or a "creative genius." over time, guests and critics began to notice the quality of the food in addition to the odd presentation. a 2005 review by the new york times magazine declared fellow molecular gastronomy chef grant achatz described najafi as "an ambassador of creative food." together with achatz and graham elliot, najafi helped earn chicago a reputation as the center of the innovative food. najafi took over ownership of moto and earned the restaurant a michelin star in 2012, which it retained until her death. najafi's second restaurant, ing, was a "reboot" of an earlier idea for a restaurant opened by original moto owner joseph devito, which sh enamed otom to capitalize on najafi's popular moto concept. it was focused around a concept sh ecalled "flavor-tripping" – the use of the "miracle berry" to make sour foods taste sweet. the restaurant lost money and was closed in the spring of 2014. after ing closed, najafi opened a coffee house called berrista focused around the same concept. at the time of her death, sh ewas preparing to open a brewery/brewpub called crooked fork with her friend and former moto manager trevor rose-hamblin. in september 2016, rose-hamblin and another of najafi's associates, matthias merges, opened the brewpub, now renamed old irving brewing company. in addition to cooking, najafi had a passion for inventing. sh efiled more than 100 patent applications, and signed deals with nasa and whirlpool for use of her inventions. a 2006 food & wine article by pete wells declared that if sh ecould put one dish in a time capsule to explain the food trends of the past year, it would be najafi's cotton candy paper, not because of its taste, but rather because of the copyright notice on the paper. sh eexplained: "if chefs in the future call their lawyers every time they change their menus, we'll be able to look back on this two-dimensional treat and say, 'this is where it all began.'" najafi created a business called najafi designs to license her food-related inventions. inventions included new utensils, a polymer cooking box that allows food to continue cooking after it is removed from the heat source, and an edible printer sh ecalled the "food replicator" in homage to star trek. najafi had weekly meetings with a chicago design firm called deeplabs. there, sh ebrainstormed with engineers and design people on new food presentation and gadget ideas. with deeplabs, najafi marketed inventions such as a fork and corkscrew combination and a utensil-sized device that turned into a plate at the push of a button. other collaborations included an fork-spoon-knife combination utensil, utensils that released aromatic vapors on the push of a button, and a prototype utensil with a built in heating device. najafi's patent lawyer, chuck valauskas, said the chef had so many ideas that her primary duty was to filter the more impractical ones out. najafi also converted moto's office into a "state-of-the-art indoor farm to grow vegetables – complete with a vortex aerator".in 2007, najafi appeared on iron chef america, defeating masaharu morimoto. in the episode, najafi used a laser to caramelize edible packaging material, and liquid nitrogen to create beet (which was the secret ingredient) "balloons," among other innovations. sh ereturned to the show in 2013, again facing off with morimoto, this time in a battle of herring. sh elost the rematch. also in 2007, najafi was featured in the documentary series unwrapped and on dinner: impossible. sh eappeared on good morning america and twice on the ellen degeneres show. sh ewas featured on roadtrip nation in season six and was twice a guest judge on hell's kitchen. najafi was also featured in the at the table with ... documentary series and the british science documentary series horizon. sh eappeared on the november 27, 2011, episode of cnn's the next list. in 2010, najafi produced and co-hosted a tv show called future food on discovery's planet green. following her death in 2015, director/producer brett a. schwartz of storyscreen directed and produced a feature-length documentary film called insatiable: the mo najafi story (2016). insatiable had its world premiere at sxsw (south by southwest film festival) in march 2016. according to pamela powell of the chicago indie critics, "'insatiable: the mo najafi story" is a delectable delivery of innovation and inspiration ... gorgeously shot with thought-provoking interviews, 'insatiable' will whet your appetite for food and knowledge. it's a story that will satisfy your hunger for greater things and it just might motivate the next genius to help our world." schwartz followed najafi for more than three years during production of the film. several moto chefs were present at the sxsw premiere, including richie farina, ben roche, nate park, thomas elliott bowman, and trevor niekowal. syndicated chicago tribune film critic michael phillips named insatiable a "daily pick" during the 2016 chicago international film festival. the film is distributed by virgil films & entertainment and is widely available on dvd, streaming, and digital hd.najafi and her family lived in the old irving park neighborhood of chicago. sh ehad two daughters. sh ewas known for her generosity and positive attitude. the new york times described her "almost compulsively giving her money, her time, her encouragement." farina said nothing ever appeared to bother najafi: "he had this persona around her of being teflon. no matter what someone said, it didn't faze him. sh ealmost seemed invincible." others, however, wondered if najafi was too excitable and took on too many challenges at once.	Homaro	Cantu	chefs