Ever read the results of a contest that asks people to select the best food in your city or Connecticut and wondered, “Um, how did this happen?” Sometimes the “best-ofs” are just so far off…but, look, they can be right on too. It all depends on how the contest is organized. Well, we just found out about a nationwide contest that was looking for the best chefs. Best Chefs Americas decided to take a fresh approach and allow chefs, culinary professionals, and food enthusiasts to take surveys (over 5,000, actually) about great chefs and great food in their area. Using this information, Best Chefs Americas was able to create a list that’s up on their page and is also available in book form. The first edition of Best Chefs Americas will also share culinary trends and ingredients that were highlighted during these interviews. The limited edition book is available on the Best Chefs Americas site for $75, but if you’re not willing to fork over the dough, you can still see the winners from Connecticut here, organized by city from Bloomfield-Woodbury. Congratulations to all the chefs who were recognized by fellow chefs. This list also serves as an amazing to-eat list of places in Connecticut, too. Amazing.
Who are you happy to see on this list and who do you wish made the list (help to nominate them too)?
Bloomfield
Steven Wolf: Republic
Centerbrook
Jason Groten: Gabrielle’s
Chester
Jonathan Rapp: River Tavern
Prashant Josse: Brushmill by the Waterfall
Danbury
Tracey Kydes: Cafe on the Green
Eastford
Kara Brooks: Still River Café
Glastonbury
Billy Grant: Bricco Trattoria
David Sellers: Max Fish
Greenwich
Morello’s signature garganelli bolognese at Morello Bistro in Greenwich, CT
Forrest Pasternack: Morello Bistro (now at Bailey’s Backyard in Ridgefield)
Jean-Louis Gerin: Restaurant Jean-Louis (now closed)
Groton
Hartford
Vinnie Carbone: Carbone’s
John Chen: Feng
Chris Torla: Trumbull Kitchen
Hunter Morton: Max Downtown
Scott Miller: Max’s Oyster Bar
Jeffrey Lizotte: ON20
Celestino Cialfi: Peppercorn’s Grill
Ivoryton
Noel Jones: Pip’s at the Copper Beech Inn
Lakeville
George Courgnaud: Le Laurentis
Madison
David Borselle: Bar Bouchee
Middletown
Josef Aigner: Brew Bakers
Milford
Claudio San Francesco: Jeffrey’s Restaurant by Claudio
Mystic
Daniel Meiser: Oyster Club
James Wayman: Oyster Club
New Canaan
New Haven
Manuel Romero: Ibiza
Jeff Caputo: Mory’s
Jean Pierre Vuillermet: Union League Cafe
John Gervasi: University of New Haven
Denise Appel: Zinc
New London
Luigi Sferrazza: Recovery Room of New London
Norwalk
Adam Halberg: Barcelona
Matt Storch: Match
Arik Bensimon: The Spread (now at LeFarm of Westport)
David Raymer: Strada 18
Old Lyme
Kristofer Rowe: Chestnut Grille
Rich, fatty, earthy…excellent pork belly atop French lentils from The Spread
Old Saybrook
John Brescio: Liv’s Oyster Bar
Putnam
James Martin: 85 Main
Ridgefield
Bernard Bouissou: Bernard’s
Sharon
Bennett Chinn: When Pigs Fly Southern BBQ
Simsbury
Tyler Anderson: Millwright’s
Stamford
Matthew Schmalle: Capital Grille
Tariffville
Ryan Jones: The Mill at 2T
Washington
Joel Viehland: Community Table
Waterbury
Nicola Mancini: La Tavola
West Hartford
Christiane Gehami: Arugula Bistro
Westport
Pietro Scotti: Da Pietro’s
Michel Nischan: The Dressing Room
Bill Taibe: LeFarm
Alex Rosado: Post 154
Wilton
Dan and Kristien Del Ferraro
OmNomCT 
Where i was, when this happened? hahaha!!
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Hmm, not sure? :(
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By the way Renato…if we had received a survey, we would have voted for you. You are an amazing chef and an amazing talent here in CT!
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Hahaha!! Thank you guys, your are so kind, actually just for saying that, I’m going to invite you on Thursday June 6th, We will featuring live jazz @ Basso Cafe…..you guys rocks!
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Hey, that’s nice of you! :) We seriously have to come back. We so loved our first experience there at Basso. We definitely need to come back to sit outside again. Jazz just sweetens the pot!
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Congratulations, love the food at Da Pietro’s !
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Motto bene, si.
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Molto bene. Urg. Dumb autocorrect.
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