Talented Bergen County Chefs in No Short Supply

Chef Sook
, 24 South Broad Street, Ridgewood, 201-493-2500

Tossing aside American conventions, this graduate of SoHo's French Culinary School told Patch last month, "Crepes are better than sandwiches.” Formerly with Manhattan's Payard Patisserie, Keum-Sook Park crafts diverse culinary delights such as fruit-filled sweet crepes and savory crepes that, more often than not, back up her bold assertion.

Chef Christine Nunn
, 14-25 Plaza Rd, Fair Lawn, 201-796-2700

A relatively new addition to the Northern New Jersey culinary scene, Christine Nunn runs Picnic the Restaurant in Fair Lawn with an obvious true love of Italian food. Nunn, a third-generation Radburn native, studied at the Culinary Institute of America.

Chef Craig Levy
, 203 Rock Rd, Glen Rock, 201-670-4945

Another CIA graduate makes his way onto our list by fusing fresh ingredients and creative ingredient combinations to rejuvenate the sometimes-staid Northern Italian fare that finds its way to our shores. Levy, RoCCa's owner and executive chef, previously worked at the Gotham Bar and Grill in Manhattan and the legendary Waldorf Astoria.

Chef Michael Velicu
, 23 N Broad St, Ridgewood, 201-447-0022

Grand pronouncements are not in short order at Chef Velicu’s Ridgewood restaurant Mediterraneo. The restaurant creates its menu by building on the resourceful palette of its chef/owner, and the careful consumer will notice tastes emerging from Turkey, Greece, Spain, Morocco, Italy and the south of France. Velicu — a graduate of the French Culinary Institute — runs the restaurant with his wife Marilena. 

Chef Jimmy Perides
, 229 Paramus Rd., Paramus

Chef Perides has trained with Master Chef Nino D’urso at four-star Italian Restaurant Capriccio in Providence, RI, and has also trained with Mario Batali of New York City’s famous Italian Restaurant, Babbo. Biagio’s signature dish is the Steak ala Chef, frutti di mare.