Danbury's George Mendes Named Best New Chef, Food & Wine Magazine

Food & Wine Magazine named Danbury-born George Mendes one of its 2011 Best New Chefs.

To watch Mendes talk about what this means to him, view this Food & Wine video of Mendes.

Mendes was born in Danbury in 1972, and Danbury Attorney Agostinho Ribeiro, a member of the James Beard Society, said the Danbury Portuguese community knows Mendes and is very proud of him. He said the Food & Wine honor isn't his first.

In 2009, Mendes founded Aldea, his restaurant near New York City's Union Square, which GQ Magazine named one of 2009's Ten Best New Restaurants. In 2010, the James Beard Foundation put Mendes on its short list for its "Best Chef New York," Award.

"He brings a passion to his work and his training is excellent. He takes classic Portuguese cuisine and he adds his touches to it, bringing it to a whole new level," said Ribeiro, a founding member of the Portuguese Cultural Center in Danbury.

The James Beard Society honored Mendes, and his New York City restaurant, Aldea, has been named one of the city's most romantic. The name Aldea means little village, Ribeiro said, meaning it isn't large enough to be called a town.

Here is Food & Wine's article on Mendes. Check out his "Dream Restaurant," and tell me you wouldn't want to try it out. This guy is funny.

"He's peaking right now," said Ribeiro, who said he will ask Mendes to visit the Portuguse Center when it reopens after its repairs are completed. "I'm not working on that yet, but it's on my radar."

(An earlier version of this story had an incorrect date for his high school graduation. George Mendes was born in Danbury in 1972. It has since been corrected. Patch regrets the error.)