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Dan Barber

Chef, Blue Hill

DAN BARBER is the Chef of Blue Hill, a restaurant in Manhattan's West Village, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, located within the nonprofit farm and education center, Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture. His opinions on food and agricultural policy have appeared in the New York Times, along with many other publications. Barber has received multiple James Beard awards including Best Chef: New York City (2006) and the country's Outstanding Chef (2009). In 2009 he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

To expand on his philosophy of cooking with sustainably grown, local ingredients, Dan has been working with such organizations as the Kellogg Foundation, Slow Food USA and Earth Pledge to minimize the political and intellectual rhetoric around agricultural policies and to instead maximize the appreciation of eating good food. Focusing on the issues of pleasure, taste and regional bounty-and how these imperatives are threatened-Dan helped create the philosophical and practical framework for Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture and continues to help guide it in its mission to create a consciousness about the effects of everyday food choices.

He is author of the book The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food.

Could Dan Barber’s giant parsnip steak save the planet? It’s a good start

That’s right… giant parsnip steak. Sound appetizing? In this video, chef Dan Barber explains why it’s important to cook your food using a diverse array of natural ingredients from your local environment.

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There Is No American Cuisine, But There Could Be, with Chef Dan Barber

National cuisines tend to be defined by historical precedent influenced by agricultural limitations. As the United States is a young country with rich soil, its own quintessential cuisine never developed.

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3 min

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Dan Barber: What is your favorite kitchen gadget?

The right-sized spoon.

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2 min

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Dan Barber: Which five ingredients do you have on hand?

Barber always has some Blue Hill milk on hand.

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Dan Barber: Rising Culinary Stars

Barber is watching some young chefs out in California.

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2 min

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Dan Barber: The Most Underrated Restaurant

Looking for the next tectonic shift.

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3 min

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Dan Barber: The Most Overrated Restaurant

There’s a reason everyone loves holes-in-the-wall, Barber says.

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Molecular Gastronomy is Overrated

Molecular gastronomy.

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2 min

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Dan Barber: Where Dan Barber Eats

Dan Barber likes something casual.

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Dan Barber: What is the best meal you’ve ever eaten?

A great meal supersedes all expectations, Barber says.

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4 min

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Dan Barber: What makes a great chef?

A great playwright knows the play is greater than the scene.

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4 min

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Dan Barber: Is the apprenticeship still important?

Its an important maturation process, Barber says.

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Dan Barber:: Can other restaurants feasibly emulate the farm-to-table method?

You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to admire peasant ideals.

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3 min

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Dan Barber: Would you consider taking meat off the menu?

Its the last thing Barber would do, despite the methane and deforestation that cattle farms create.

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5 min

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Dan Barber: How is the push for ethanol affecting your farm?

The drive for ethanol has direct effect on everything that’s going on on the farm, Barber says.

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5 min

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Dan Barber: How has globalization changed the way we eat?

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a Turkish fig, Barber says.

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2 min

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Dan Barber:What’s in season now?

Greens and cattle, Barber says

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3 min

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Dan Barber: A Pinch of Narrative

When a good story adds that extra bit of flavor.

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6 min

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Dan Barber:How do you find obscure plant varieties?

Barber tells the surprising story of a native American polenta.

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4 min

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Dan Barber: What food is indigenous to New York?

The hearty stuff is local.

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2 min

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Dan Barber: Voting With Your Fork

Shop at your farmers; market, eat at home more frequently, says Barber.

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Dan Barber: Why have we dissociated food from agriculture?

It has a little bit to do with our history, Barber says.

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Dan Barber: Is the locavore trend reviving local farmers?

Its the mid-size farmer thats getting squeezed, Barber says.

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4 min

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Dan Barber: Translating Theory into a Working Farm

Adapting the writings of Elliott Coleman and Joel Salatin to 300 acres.

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7 min

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Why does your pork taste better?

Dan Barber: The importance of fat and old-world breeding methods.

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8 min

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Dan Barber: What is Blue Hill at Stone Barns?

Barbers farm-based restaurant teaches eaters what theyre eating.

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5 min

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Dan Barber: What sparked your interest in food?

Barber overcompensated for his grandmothers bad cooking.

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2 min

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Dan Barber: Growing Up in New York, Finding Peace on a Farm

Barber’s grandmother had a farm where he learned the basics of tending the earth.

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Chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill constructs a lover’s feast.

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