Chef Christos Bisiotis has one main goal, and it is to always bringing joy to people’s bellies and makes their lives easier and happier through food. As a specialist in Greek, Italian and Israeli cuisine, he has opened up some of the most notable restaurants in the United States including Milos Hudson Yards, Avra Beverly Hills/Madison, Eataly, MILA Miami, and Carbone.
With a Michelin nomination and being the first/youngest Greek American chef to cook at the White House, Chef Christos has many accolades to his name. Currently, he has launched The CB Concepts, a full service hospitality company based in South Florida. We sat down with Chef to find out more about his inspiration, trends and what’s on his bucket list:
Pursuitist: Tell us about yourself. What inspired you to be a chef? How did you get started?
Chef Christos Bisiotis: Being American at birth but born in Greece, it all started having the privilege to have my grandmother, Terpsi, cooking every day since I remember myself. At the age of 12 though, I delivered on a Saturday night some bread to a restaurant from my parent’s bakery shop and when I opened the back door, I fell in love with the smells, the noise, and the entire chaos. I finally found my home. I started as a dishwasher and worked my way up seeing all aspects of the kitchen.
I finished my high school, and then went to cooking school. Once I graduated, I took the decision to move permanently to the United States which always was my home, I just didn’t know it back then. I arrived to New York on December 25, 2007 and the rest is history.
Pursuitist: You helmed several stellar restaurants across the United States including Milos Hudson Yards, Avra Beverly Hills/Madison, Eataly, MILA Miami, and Carbone. What does it take to get a restaurant to that level?
CB: To take a restaurant to that level it needs a lot of money to invest, time to build a great team and working environment for the FOH and BOH employees, patience to find great quality of ingredients, and leadership to create consistency on service and high demand of hospitality.
Pursuitist: What trends do you see in 2023 in hospitality and cuisine?
CB: I’m not about trends and I’m only going for tasty food. I’m not the person to judge how it’s going to look, but how it’s going to taste. Getting older, I’m attracted to the simple things and believe it or not, those are the hardest to have nowadays.
Pursuitist: What is your go-to dish to make at home?
CB: Cypriot sheftalies for my wife Laura. It is ground pork and lamb patties, wrapped in lamb fat. You can take the girl out of Cyprus, but you can’t take Cyprus out of the girl.
What culinary destinations are on your bucket list?
CB: Japan because I want to take my son Christos Brendan to go eat all the street food and see Naruto. Definitely South Korea for the barbeque, and Thailand for all the spices. The soonest trip will be to Israel because I want to get more ideas and inspiration for my Israeli concept, Lox n’ Love.
To learn more:
Website: https://christosbisiotis.com/
Full Bio: About Christos (christosbisiotis.com)
Instagram for The CB Concepts: The CB Concepts (@thecbconcepts) on Instagram
