Brian Paszko
Chef de Cuisine | Alcove | Boston
september 2020
Brian Paszko was born into a family of farmers of Polish descent in Haverhill, Massachusetts. In high school, he cooked for a local catering company which opened his eyes to technique and the aesthetics of composed dishes. Thanks to the encouragement of the company’s owner, Paszko moved to Providence to study food service management and culinary arts at Johnson & Wales. While pursuing his degree, Paszko continued to cook for Russell Morin’s Fine Catering, Chow Fun Food Group, and Hourglass Brasserie. In 2011, he became sous chef of Chef Nemo Bolin’s Cook & Brown. Seeing great potential in Paszko, Bolin suggested he spend time training on the West Coast. Paszko moved to San Francisco in 2012, becoming chef de partie of Fifth Floor restaurant, under the leadership of Rising Stars alum Chef David Bazirgan (now chef/owner of Bambara in Cambridge).
For the next two and a half years, Paszko staged at some of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, including Manresa, Atelier Crenn, Quince, SPQR, and Saison. Collectively, these experiences shaped him into the seafood-loving, “turnip geek” that he is today.
In 2014, Paszko settled in as sous chef for Central Kitchen, finding a mentor in famed chef and restaurateur, Thomas McNaughton. After two years, Paszko decided to return to the East Coast. In 2016, he helped Chef Douglass Williams open award-winning Boston pasta eatery, Mida, as sous chef, then gravitated back to California cuisine as executive sous chef of Mary Dumont’s Cultivar. Next, Paszko joined another Rising Stars alum Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli as executive sous of his new project, Alcove. Now as chef de cuisine, Paszko blends his talents and influences to curate a regionally-sourced, seafood-centric Mediterranean menu at the historic Lovejoy Wharf space.
