Meet the chef: Matt Yohalem
Chef Matt opened Il Piatto Italian Farmhouse Kitchen in 1996, and Esquire named him in their Top 20 Best New Restaurants…and it seems like he gets better every year. He attended Johnson and Wales University, and he has worked in some of the most acclaimed kitchens in the world, including: Commanders Palace with Emeril Lagasse, Le Cirque with Daniel Boulud, The Union Square Cafe with Michael Romano, The Coyote Cafe with Mark Miller, La Petite France with Paul Elbling, and The Hotel de France with Andre Daguin. His training taught him to always seek out the best, freshest ingredients. “I was taught by the best chefs. They taught me that the best ingredients come from the best farms in the best places.”
This approach to food and his decades-long dedication to local food has made Chef Matt a pioneer and spokesperson of the farm-to-restaurant movement. No wonder he is seen at Market almost every week!
Chef Matt is invested in helping build a sustainable local food system and continually gives back to this community, partly through board membership with the Santa Fe Restaurant Association, Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, and the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute.