Abe Conlon

Abraham Conlon (born 1980 or 1981) is an American chef and a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, of Portuguese heritage. Conlon is the winner of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes.

Education

Conlon was born in 1980 or 1981. At the early age of 15, Conlon showed interest in cooking and gained knowledge of classic sensibilities. Conlon graduated from Greater Lowell Technical High School in 1999.

He studied classical training at the Culinary Institute of America with mentors Franc Giovanini and Jon Matheison.

He studied fusion techniques under Norman Van Aken.

Career

Conlon ran Chez Asian Bistro, a restaurant with a blend of Southeast Asian styles with local ingredients, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

He became the youngest chef to win the AAA 4 Diamond Award for Augustine’s at Fredericksburg Square in Virginia.

Conlon and his business partner, Adrienne Lo, founded X-marx, an underground supper club in Chicago that served seven to 12 courses, three to four times per week, without repeating dishes and no repetition of a dish to serve.

In November 2012, Conlon and Lo opened their own fine-dining restaurant, Fat Rice, named after the home-style arroz gordo in Logan Square, Chicago. Conlon was the head chef of Fat Rice. After interviewing previous workers of Fat Rice The New York Times reported in 2020 that the employees largely portrayed Conlon as "an extreme example of a restaurant-business archetype: a tantrum-prone chef who rules by fear and bullying". He published a letter of regret, saying, "I have hurt and let down many people. I hear the criticism of my character and behavior. As process and reflect, I'm realizing who I am, who I've become, and how I need to change. I am taking this time to learn and to grow so that I may be better for the people I have damaged."

Awards

Published Book

References

  1. ↑ "Chef Abe Conlon Gives Us The Skinny On Fat Rice". www.standardhotels.com. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  2. 1 2 McSweeney, Margaret (2018-12-17). "Abe Conlon: Best Chef of the Great Lakes". Kitchen Chat. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  3. ↑ "Abe Conlon of Fat Rice only Chicago chef to win a 2018 James Beard Award". Chicago Tribune. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  4. ↑ "The 2018 James Beard Award Winners | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  5. ↑ "Chicago's Abraham Conlon emerges victorious at the 2018 James Beard Awards". Chicago Sun-Times. 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  6. 1 2 Sobey, Rick (2013-10-14). "Lowell native is cookin' -- in Chicago". The Sun. Retrieved 2023-05-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ↑ "From Pandemic to Protests: How Food Businesses Are Responding". Bon Appétit. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  8. ↑ Buote, Brenda J. (2014-06-07). "Noted chef Abraham Conlon returns to Tyngsborough". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  9. 1 2 3 Dean, Jacob (2018-04-23). "Chef Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice, and the Search for Flavor". The Cook's Cook. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  10. ↑ "Abraham Conlon". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  11. ↑ "Two local eateries celebrate their modest beginnings with big James Beard wins". Chicago Sun-Times. 2018-05-08. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  12. ↑ Lambrecht, Catherine (2017-01-21). "What Makes Fat Rice Tick? Culinary Tell-All Behind Logan Square Eatery". Culinary Historians of Chicago. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  13. 1 2 Cusack, Rachel (2018-10-01). "Introducing October's James Beard Award Winning Chefs: Abe Conlon & Adrienne Lo". Corporate Essentials. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  14. ↑ "Bio". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  15. ↑ Sula, Mike (2020-06-16). "A culinary confession". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  16. ↑ "Abe Conlon Blurs the Lines Between Food and Drink". Plate. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-05.
  17. ↑ Mai, Jeffy (2017-03-02). "How Fat Rice's Arroz Gordo Is a Chicago-Only Melting Pot of Cuisines". Eater Chicago. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  18. ↑ Anderson, Brett (2020-04-28). "Fat Rice, an Acclaimed Chicago Restaurant, Shifts to Meal Kits". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  19. ↑ Anderson, Brett (2020-06-16). "A Top Chicago Restaurant Messaged Its Virtue. Then Workers Spoke Up. Since Fat Rice proclaimed its support for justice, former employees have come forward with complaints that its chef created a hostile work environment". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  20. ↑ Moore, Evan F. (2020-06-08). "Abraham Conlon, Fat Rice co-owner, issues apology 'for those I have hurt,' amid bullying allegations". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2023-05-06. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  21. ↑ Olsen, Morgan. "Fat Rice chef Abraham Conlon honored with 2018 James Beard Best Chef Great Lakes award". Time Out Chicago. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  22. ↑ "Abraham Conlon". San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival®. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  23. ↑ "Abraham Conlon". Chicago Gourmet.
  24. ↑ "A guide to eating 2017 James Beard Award-winning food in Chicago". Chicago Tribune. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  25. ↑ Conlon, Abraham; Lo, Adrienne (2016-10-25). The Adventures of Fat Rice: Recipes from the Chicago Restaurant Inspired by Macau [A Cookbook]. Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. ISBN 978-1-60774-896-0.
  26. ↑ Canavan, Hillary Dixler (2015-10-01). "How Chicago Hotspot Fat Rice Finds Its Future in Culinary History". Eater. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  27. ↑ "Talks at Google | The Adventures of Fat Rice". gtalks-gs.appspot.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-11-28.