Leah Cohen

Expert Interview: Leah Cohen

Behind the Chef

What were your favorite foods growing up?
Growing up and to this date my favorite food is pizza. Aside from that I love Filipino food and am a huge fan Asian cuisine.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
I decided I wanted to be a chef when I was about 19 years old. I always had a passion for cooking, but never thought of it as a career until I was 19. Now I can't imagine my life any differently.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
My first job was at a traditional Italian restaurant in Harrison, NY.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
If I wasn't a chef I would like to be a personal shopper.

If you had two words to describe your Top Chef experience, what would they be?
Challenging and intense

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
I have had the opportunity to work for some very talented chefs and I seem to take away a little something for all of the kitchens I have ever cooked in.

How would you describe your cuisine?
I would describe my cuisine as modern Italian, utilizing a variety of bold flavors.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
I really try to create dishes with ingredients that are in season, I then think of what I would like to eat and create a dish from there.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
My favorite secret ingredient is xantham gum.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
I think the most important thing is to taste your food and to make sure it's seasoned properly. I get upset when I go out to eat and I have to season my own food, it should already be done.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
My brown butter boiled over on to the flat top and I started a mini kitchen fire right before dinner service.

What is your least favorite food?
White Asparagus

What is your beverage of choice?
I love Kerner white wine!

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where are you eating?
If I'm not at my restaurant I'm eating in my favorite joints: Hagi Kyo Ya, Ippuddo and Yakitori Toto.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Italy

What do you eat when you are home?
Pizza

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Expert Profile

As the executive chef at New York City's popular Centro Vinoteca Leah Cohen offers an innovative Italian menu that blends traditional Italian classics with a modern approach.

Growing up in Scarsdale, New York, Leah's passion for food was fostered by those around her, including her Filipino mother who would joke about her faux-Italian heritage as Leah constantly perfected the marinara sauce.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, Leah's first position in a New York City kitchen was working for celebrated chef David Burke at Park Avenue Café. There, Leah adapted Chef Burke's philosophy of utilizing the freshest seasonal ingredients and was encouraged to enroll in a Slow Food program based in Italy. After studying the intricacies of Italy's diverse culinary landscape, Leah stayed on for an additional year in Sicily to focus on the local cuisine, which draws from the bold and fresh flavors of the Mediterranean.

Upon returning to New York, Leah refined her craft at Eleven Madison Park under the tutelage of Chef Daniel Humm. Rising the ranks from garde manger to chef de partie, Leah was quickly promoted to tourant between the fish and meat roasting stations.

At Centro Vinoteca, Leah traded in refined for rustic when she joined then-chef Anne Burrell, where she had the chance to explore her love of Italian cooking. This experience led to Leah being chosen as a contestant on BRAVO's hit television series Top Chef. After a successful run on the nationally televised show, Leah returned to Centro Vinoteca and was appointed executive chef, where she continues to explore her culinary creativity with an inventive Italian menu that attracts West Village locals and destination diners alike.