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Stan came to love Asian cooking by way of a childhood in the south and a first job in a Chinese restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. He says he cannot remember a time when he was not completely enamored with the rituals and beauty of food.
After years of being chased out of the kitchens at both his grandmothers’ homes in rural New York state and Alabama, young Stan was finally allowed to shell peas and fry chicken. Before long, he was cooking more of the family’s dinner, events that often stretched on for hours.
He cooked professionally as a teenager, and earned his way through the University of Georgia with kitchen jobs in Atlanta and Athens, GA. After graduating with a degree in English, Stan applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated first in his class.
Stan moved to Boston in 1984 where he honed his craft at such top Boston restaurants as Jasper’s and Hamersley’s Bistro.
In 1989, Stan launched his first independent venture, the award-winning Choice Catering Company. In 1992, he became co-owner and chef of the critically acclaimed The Blue Room, named one of America’s Best New Restaurants by Esquire.
In 1994, Stan developed his own restaurant that reflected his passion for elegantly crafted foods, carefully served in a rich environment paired with a wine list complimentary to his Asian-inspired cuisine. Located in an old, renovated ink factory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Salamander offered adventurous foods in a setting filled with creature comforts.
Exceptional reviews followed from local Boston food media, as well as recognition by national media, from The New York Times, Washington Post, Esquire, Metropolitan Home, and Art Culinaire, to Food & Wine, Food Arts, Bon Appetit and Gourmet. Travel & Leisure called Salamander the one not to miss, and Zagat’s Boston survey has ranked Salamander in the top ten since the restaurant’s first listing.
Salamander closed the doors to its Cambridge location in early 2000 in preparation for relocation at Trinity Place in Boston’s Back Bay.
Stan has been a frequent television guest, including Ready, Set, Cook and Chef du Jour on The Food Network, and on Food New England and Chronicle on WCVB-TV in Boston.
Stan has always felt a strong responsibility to teach cookery, and has enlightened culinary students, and kids through classes and demonstrations at Boston University, the Culinary Institute of America, Williams-Sonoma, Cakebread Cellars, Bloomingdale’s, New England Culinary Institute, Whole Foods, Hay Day, and at Salamander.
When not in the kitchen, Stan devotes time to charity events, many of them related to hunger relief. Over the years, he has organized dinners and participated in fund-raisers for Share Our Strength and AIDS Action Committee. Stan has been a guest chef at the James Beard House eleven times, most recently preparing a Mother’s Day Brunch in 2000. Stan was voted First Vice Chair of the National Board of Overseers of Chefs Collaborative 2000. Locally, he has lent his ongoing support to Community Servings, The Greater Table, Rosie’s Place, The Food Project and several other health and cultural groups. Salamander underwrites public radio broadcasting on WGBH and WBUR. | 