Cindy Pawlcyn (born Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American chef best known for the restaurants she opened in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Napa Valley between 1983 and 2008. Pawlcyn was an early advocate for using local, sustainable meats and produce in her restaurants.
In 2009, Pawlcyn appeared in the first season of Bravo’s "Top Chef: Masters."
Pawlcyn began working in a Minneapolis cooking school at the age of 13 and while in high school she ran her own catering business. Cindy earned a degree in hotel and restaurant management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout. She took courses at Le Cordon Bleu and received formal training at La Varenne in Paris before working at the Pump Room in Chicago. She moved to California in 1980 to take a job at McArthur Park. From there she was the opening chef at Meadowood in St. Helena and then joined Bruce LeFavour at Rose et LaFavour.
Restaurants opened
editMustards Grill, Yountville, opened 1983
editNamed for the wild mustards flowers that grow in the wine country every year, Mustards became known for French-trained chef-quality food in a casual setting.
Fog City Diner, San Francisco, opened 1985
editWhen Pawlcyn opened the Fog City Diner in 1985, it became an iconic restaurant because it served critically acclaimed food in a building that looked like an Airstream trailer. Visa filmed an ad about the Fog City Diner.
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, St. Helena, opened 2003
editThe restaurant was called Miramonte when it opened in 2003 but Pawlcyn changed the name to Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen within a year.
Go Fish, St. Helena, opened 2008
editThis was the Napa Valley's first sushi restaurant.<BR.
Pawlcyn also was involved with opening Tra Vigne, Bix, Roti (opened in 1993), Betelnut, and Buckeye Roadhouse. She currently owns and runs Mustards Grill, Go Fish, and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen.
Books
edit"Fog City Diner Cookbook," 1993, Ten Speed Press
"Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook," 2001, Ten Speed Press (Won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best American Cookbook in 2002.)
"Big Small Plates," 2006, Ten Speed Press
"Appetizers," 2009, Ten Speed Press
Awards
editPawlcyn won the James Beard Foundation Award in 2002 for Best American Cookbook for Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook. She has twice been nominated for a James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef in California and she received the Robert Mondavi Award for Culinary Excellence, as well as the Fine Beverage and Food Federation’s Career Achievement Award.
Personal Library
editPawlcyn collects cookbooks and owns more than 4,000 books in her personal library.
Links
edit[http;//www.cindypawlcyn.com]