Tomas Curi

EXECUTIVE CHEF—CORSINO, NEW YORK CITY, NY

“Ganesh is my right-hand man.”

—Tomas Curi

There are many chefs who have always known they wanted to be chefs. Tomas Curi wasn’t one of them. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Texas, after college Tomas found himself back in D.C. working in management consulting on a project for Homeland Security. He says, “We helped them do airport security, things like how to best set up checkpoints and layers of security.” But after a few years, Tomas realized that he didn’t find the work he was doing fulfilling. He says, “I wanted to do something that allowed me to use my hands, as well as my other senses, since I am a more tactile learner.” Tomas grew up not only cooking, but woodworking, hunting, fishing, and gardening. Cooking seemed like the culmination of all of those. Tomas had always been interested in Italian culture, so he gave up management consulting to move to Florence, Italy, where he started his culinary education at Apicius International School of Hospitality. An American tattoo artist gave Tomas his first piece on his left shoulder while he was still living in Florence. Tomas describes the tattoo by saying, “I wanted something in a traditional Asian style, so I got the tree with the cherry blossoms because I’m from D.C.”

After completing culinary school, Tomas moved to New York City. A newcomer to one of the greatest culinary cities in the world, he didn’t have a job or a home, and was staying at a friend’s place. Feeling intimidated by starting his new career, he wanted someone to watch over him, and he “thought of [the Hindu god] Ganesh because of how he is described as our lord and protector.” Less than two weeks after his arrival, he met Su Houston, a tattoo artist who worked at the Electric Dragon, and had Ganesh tattooed on his right forearm. The Hindu god did what Tomas was hoping he would, and his career took off. He spent time working with a list of great Italian restaurants in New York City, including Bar Milano, Falai, ‘inoteca liquori, and A Voce. And thanks to his boyish grin, he even gained a little notoriety in 2009 when he was awarded the title of Eater’s “hottest male chef.” Today, Tomas is the executive chef at Corsino, where he continues to develop his passion for Italian cooking.

Crispy Braised Mangalitsa Belly with Bitter Greens and Citrus

In a saucepan, combine mustard seeds and sherry vinegar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Clean belly of all sinew and excess fat; it should be nice and smooth. Aggressively salt and pepper it. Let it sit at room temperature until it starts weeping, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300°F. Cut oranges and lemons into ¹⁄₂” slices and reserve.
Place belly, skin-side up, in an ovensafe pan just barely big enough for it. Add enough olive oil to cover it by ¹⁄₂” and the citrus. Place in oven uncovered and cook for about 3 hours or until tender. (The citrus will caramelize and turn brown. That’s okay.) Remove belly from the oil and let it rest, for about 30 minutes. Then, place in another shallow pan, skin-side up, and crank the oven up to 500°F. Cook the belly in the oven until the skin starts to blister and become crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven, let it cool a little, and cut into portion sizes.
Sauté the greens in olive oil over high heat until they wilt, about 1–2 minutes, remove from heat, and add a spoonful of the mustard and sherry mix. Plate the greens, place a piece of belly (best if warm, not super hot) on top, and drizzle with the mustard-sherry mix. Grate zest of lemon on top to garnish.