2023 Chefs
HEARTS DELIGHT Q&A
Q: What was your nickname growing up?
A: I had a few. Biss, Bubsy, and ironically, Cheffie
Q: Your version of Mount Rushmore would include whose faces?
A:
In tradition, do they have to be American? If so:
The band Minor Threat
Chef's: Julia Child, James Beard, Jasper White, Tom Colicchio
Non american & american chefs: Julia Child, James Beard, Jacques Pepin, Jean-Louis Palladin
Q: How do you cope with the long hours?
A: PMA - positive mental attitude
Boston
Featured: Saturday Grand Tasting & Auction
Chef and owner of Coppa in Boston, and Toro in Boston and New York.
Even as a child, Bissonnette was drawn to the kitchen eschewing cartoons for cooking shows on the Discovery Channel. With this early start, he earned his Culinary Arts degree from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale by the young age of 19 and spent his early 20s eating and cooking his way through Paris, San Francisco, New York and Phoenix. These early experiences fed his culinary drive, teaching him expression through his daily-changing menus.
After cooking in Europe and across the United States, Bissonnette settled in Boston and began working in some of the city’s most notable kitchens. Following stints at a few highly regarded restaurants, Bissonnette opened Eastern Standard as executive chef in 2005. Two years later, he was recruited for the steakhouse KO Prime, winning praise for his modern take on this classic fare. That year in 2007, TheImproper Bostonian named him “Rising Star Chef” and KO Prime “Best New Restaurant.” Shortly after in the fall of 2008, Bissonnette joined Ken Oringer as executive chef and partner of the acclaimed tapas restaurant Toro in Boston’s South End and then together in late 2009 they opened the innovative Italian enoteca Coppa. StarChefs awarded Bissonnette Rising Star Chef that same year, and directly following Coppa was awarded 3 Stars in a rave review from the Boston Globe and honorable mention in Esquire’s Best New Restaurants annual list.
In 2011, Bissonnette was awarded the prestigious honor of Food & Wine magazine’s first ever People Choice Best New Chef. Additionally, Jamie is a past winner and current judge of the Cochon 555 nose-to-tail competition. In the fall of 2013, he opened Toro in New York City’s South Chelsea neighborhood and it was met with critical acclaim from The New York Times, New York Magazine and others. Additionally, Bissonnette was just announced as Best Chef: Northeast at the 2014 James Beard Foundation Awards.
Bissonnette is a champion of nose-to-tail cuisine and is well-known locally and nationally for his exceptional charcuterie and passionate dedication to supporting local, sustainable purveyors. As chef and owner of Coppa and Toro in Boston, and Toro in New York City, Bissonnette continues to helm the kitchens of his award-winning restaurants, and can be found at nightly overseeing his menus of innovative small plates and nose to tail cooking. In September 2014, Jamie launched his debut cookbook—The New Charcuterie Cookbook: Exceptional Cured Meats to Make and Serve at Home, featuring a foreword by Andrew Zimmern.