Meet the Chef: Vincent Barcelona of Harvest on Hudson

Vincent Barcelona was destined to be a chef. His grandfather Salvatore—an emigrant from Barcellona—Sicily in the late-1930s, had 14 children and all went into the restaurant business.

His parents owned restaurants in New Jersey throughout his childhood—dad Peter was the chef and mom Marie although an accomplished cook was charged with running the front of the house. He hung out at their restaurants as a small child and began to learn the business.

As he grew older, Barcelona helped out after school at his parents' restaurant in Lodi, NJ (called Barcelona's) until they sold it in 1981. He was active in athletics and earned varsity letters at Paramus High School in three sports: baseball (as a catcher), football (as a tailback and safety) and wrestling.

He could cook since he was 12, so after graduating from high school in 1983, he landed a kitchen job at a restaurant in the Woodcliff Lake Hilton where the cuisine was French.  

Barcelona would go on to work at some of New York City's top rated restaurants and with a number of celebrated chefs as shown below:

Barcelona's odyssey

• 1983. Woodcliff Lake Hilton, Bergen County, NJ. His first job after graduating from high school
• 1984-87. Loews Glenpointe Hotel, Teanneck, NJ. Line cook
• 1987-88. Le Bernardin. He helped open this 3-star-rated Michelin, 4-star-rated New York Times restaurant founded by chef/owner Gilbert Le Coze
• 1989. Mondrian Hotel. Worked for chef Tom Colliciccho who would later become the lead judge for the television series Top Chef All-Stars
• 1990. Union Square Cafe. Ranked number #1 by Zagat survey voters as Favorite New York Restaurant, a multiple number of times
• 1990-91. Le Bernardin. Barcelona returned to work again for chef/owner Gilbert Le Coze and chef Eric Ripert
• 1992-96. Restaurant Luxe. He opened this restaurant as executive sous chef with Rick Laakkonen
• 1997. Park Avenue Cafe. He was hired by chef and noted restaurateur David Burke
• 1997. Mark Hotel. Executive sous chef. This is the current site of The Mark Restaurant by Jean Georges
• 1998. River Cafe (Brooklyn). He reunited with chef Rick Laakkonen
• 1999-2004. Seven Bar & Grill. He opened this restaurant near Madison Square Garden with three partners. Corporate executive chef and partner
• 2004-11. Harvest on Hudson. Corporate executive chef 

While employed at the Mark Hotel, Barcelona won an Andre and Simone Soltner Alsatian Internship Grand Award from the American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF); it paid for travel to France and training at Chateau Bangnol in Bangnols, France in the Rhone Alps outside of Lyon. The AIWF, founded by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi, Richard Grath and others in 1981 provides scholarships to deserving young chefs to help them jump-start their careers.

Barcelona learned how to cook pasta and steak from his mother. "I grew up on my mom's Pasta 'e Pisselli," Barcelona says."It was my favorite food as a kid." Pasta 'e Pisselli is on the menu at Harvest on Hudson. It combines fusilli pasta with fresh English peas, garlic, fresh-made tomato sauce and grated Romano cheese.

He says the 42-ounce Porterhouse steak for two at Harvest on Hudson is prepared using basically the same ingredients used by his mother for steak—lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, chopped parsley, salt and pepper.

His interests outside of the workplace now are playing the guitar, skiing, baseball, cycling and riding street motorcycles and dirt bikes.

On Easter Sunday (April 24), and Mother's Day (Sunday May 8), Harvest on Hudson will serve a special prix-fixe meal. Easter Sunday is fully booked but seating is available on Mother's Day from  11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Harvest on Hudson, 1 River Street, Hastings-on-Hudson, 914-478-2800. www.harvest2000.com