Frank Castronovo

Frank Castronovo started learning the vernacular of Southern Italian food in his grandparents’ kitchen. formative culinary career began in 1984, at the age of 15, at Durso’s, an Italian salumeria and gourmet shop in Flushing, Queens. In 1987 he started a professional apprenticeship at The Russian Tea Room under the tutelage of consulting chef Jacques Pepin. Three years later, Frank headed for France and Lyon where he worked for MOF chef Jean Fleury at the 3-star Michelin restaurant Paul Bocuse. A few months later, Chef Fleury recommended Frank to join Chef David Bouley’s opening team at restaurant Bouley back in NYC. Declared as “one of the most exciting restaurants in New York City”, The New York Times awarded Bouley 4-stars shortly after its opening in 1990. In 1992, at the tender age of 23, Frank opened Jean Claude, the critically acclaimed Soho bistro. Itching to get back on the road and to further refine his culinary skills, Frank for the next year and a half traveled and worked extensively throughout Asia and Australia. He later made his way to Frieburg, Germany, where he in 1993 partnered with his friend and chef Bernard Guth to open Schloss Reinach, a boutique hotel and restaurant. It was here that Frank met his wife Heike, and where his first daughter Louise, was born. Frank spent five years cooking in Freiburg before returning home to New York. He was soon after recruited as Executive Chef of Between The Bread, a high-end events and catering company. In 2001, Frank returned to fine dining as the Chef of Restaurant Boughalem, before opening the Chelsea restaurant Parish & Company, where he reunited with Frank Falcinelli in 2003.