The greenmarket serves as a daily inspiration for James Tracey when creating the menus at Craft and Colicchio & Sons. James works alongside chef Tom Colicchio to capture the flavors of each season, using locally sourced ingredients as the basis for the bold, clean dishes that characterize the cooking at Colicchio & Sons and Craft, which received its second three-star review from The New York Times in September 2011.
As the son of a restaurant owner, Craft’s chef de cuisine Christopher Lavey developed a passion for food at a young age. Growing up in East Hartford, Connecticut, Lavey was inspired by the hardworking chefs at his father’s steakhouse in nearby Manchester, and decided to pursue his interest at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. While honing his skills in culinary school, he completed an externship at Restaurant August in New Orleans under James Beard award-winning chef John Besh.
A native of Istanbul, Scott Sozmen moved from the shores of the Bosporus to the shores of the Hudson as a teenager. He believes that his roots in Mediterranean culture — where the only talk at the lunch table is about what’s for dinner -– destined him for a career in the restaurant world.
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Stephen Collucci grew up in New Jersey as part of a boisterous Italian family that prized Sunday suppers together. At age three, Collucci’s grandparents taught him how to roll meatballs, and he’s been drawn to the kitchen ever since. In particular, pastry has always appealed to his artistic side because of the creative presentations that desserts allow.
Growing up on the coast of Maine, Ryan Mills-Knapp worked in restaurants during summers in high school and college during the busy tourist season. Through these summer jobs, he became passionate about food and wine, which eventually led him to his current position as beverage director of Colicchio & Sons.
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