Home town Tacoma, Washington Name Gordon Naccarato | Role Chef | |
 | ||
Website blog.pacificgrilltacoma.com Education Stadium High School, University of Washington, Loyola Law School | ||
Gordon Naccarato is an award-winning chef and restaurateur from Tacoma, Washington.
Contents
Education and early life
Naccarato was born in Tacoma, and grew up in the Tacoma area. He is the son of Stan Naccarato, a vice-president of the Tacoma Stars soccer team, and a restaurant owner.
He graduated from Stadium High School in 1972, and then attended the University of Washington. He met his wife Rebecca, also from Washington, while living in Washington. After UW, he attended Loyola Law School at Loyola Marymount University for two years, then dropped out in 1977.
Restaurant career
Naccarato started working for Michael's in Santa Monica in 1979. While there, he received Food & Wine Best New Chef award in 1988.
Gordon Naccarato and his wife Rebecca Naccarato opened Gordon's Restaurant and Rebecca's Bakery in Aspen, Colorado in 1984.
Naccarato and his wife were divorced; she worked at a grill in Kirkland and opened a Seattle restaurant with brother Tim Towner in 1990; and he moved back to Tacoma in July 2001, after working in various places including Campanile, Monkey Bar and Le Colonial in Los Angeles in the 1990s. He started the Beach House restaurant in Purdy in 2002.
In Tacoma, Naccarato is president of Naccarato Restaurant Group, which operates Pacific Grill. He opened Smoke + Cedar restaurant in 2014. The Classics Cafe at America's Car Museum is owned by Naccarato. His brother Steve opened Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma.
Awards and recognition
In addition to the Best New Chef 1988 award noted above, Naccarato was named by Aspen Magazine in 2014 as one of 40 individuals creating modern Aspen, a former "culinary wasteland".
Other chefs have noted the influence Naccarato had on their expression.
Personal life
Naccarato was profiled as a prominent openly gay businessperson by The Advocate in 2013.