Michael Psilakis

Michael Psilakis has accrued many of the food world’s highest honors in the short time he has been part of the culinary world. In 2008, Psilakis was awarded Food & Wine’s Best New Chef and Bon Appetit’s Chef of the Year distinctions; nominated for A-List Chef by Bravo TV; and had his upscale Greek restaurant, Anthos, nominated for a James Beard Award in the category of Best New Restaurant. He was also deemed “Chef of the Year” by Esquire Magazine and Anthos was awarded a Michelin star and named the third of ten best new restaurants by The New York Times restaurant reviewer, Frank Bruni. As the eldest first generation son in a traditional Greek family on Long Island, Michael Psilakis was destined to embody the hospitality and appreciation for food so highly valued by his party-loving family. When his father installed an immense BBQ in the backyard, he taught young Michael to roast whole lambs on a spit. A tremendous cook, Michael’s mother taught him everything about the flavors and techniques of classic Greek cooking and remains his greatest influence in the kitchen. “Even today, the flavors of my dishes are my mother’s flavors,” says Psilakis. “And my instincts for taking Greek cuisine in new directions—these I’ve inherited from her.” Most recently, Psilakis has opened Gus & Gabriel, a gastropub honoring the two most influential men in his life: Gus, Psilakis’ late father, and Gabriel, his three-year-old son, in the space on 79th Street that has served as an incubator for concepts like Onera and Kefi. Little, Brown will publish Psilakis’ first cookbook, How to Roast a Lamb, in October 2009.