Alfred Portale graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America and worked in several great French kitchens before becoming chef and co-owner at Gotham Bar and Grill, which has ranked among the top five New York restaurants in five consecutive Zagat Surveys. He received the James Beard Award for Best Chef, New York, in 1993, and his previous book, Alfred Portale's Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook (Doubleday, 1997), received an IACP Julia Child Award.