The Bailliage de Boston de la Confrèrie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs cordially invites you to:
Le Chapître d' Été
Marseille
Monday, June 24th, 2024
Details TBA
Chef Robert Fathman
Fathman grew up in various neighborhoods of Cincinnati until the age of 12 where he moved in with his father on a small homesteading farm in Southeastern Indiana. The family had the usual livestock but the Nubian goats were the main attraction, supplying milk and making cheese and yogurt. Goat’s milk and Fruit Loops was no marriage made in heaven. Meals and family gatherings were important to the family and that’s where Fathman realized the value of home grown, honest food. In an age of over processed, fast food, canned veggies and frozen TV dinners the young man learned to appreciate the flavor of raw asparagus from their own patches, the sweetness of a tree ripened peach or apple and what chicken was really supposed to taste like.
Fathman’s family moved around a lot after the farm years, maybe that’s where he got his nomadic spirit. Eventually after an undistinguished high school career he joined the Navy to see the world! Young Fathman did his two year tour of duty in a very, very secure computer room deep inside a secure building in beautiful Monterey California. Enjoying working with food during his high school years he got a part time job off base as a prep cook in a local soup and sandwich shop.
After his discharge from the Navy he found himself back in Cincinnati a little lost and with the guidance of his old Pastry/Baker boss he got himself into a culinary program and that’s when the bug bit him. The CCA was affiliated with the CIA in Hyde Park, New York and the Chef instructors came down to teach their “blocks” or sessions. It was a whole new world of pates,flambes, galentines, toques and a brigade style cooking. The controlled chaos of a well orchestrated kitchen was exactly what Fathman was looking for.
Upon graduation the wanderlust was gnawing and Fathman hitched around the country taking small short term jobs working his way back to grand old California.
Upon reaching Los Angeles he thought Hollywood would be a nice place to live. Maybe the Hills, but Hollywood and Vine was no Utopia. Fathman found himself a job as a prep cook in a small steak house in Long Beach, a two hour commute each way. He fell in love with it. The work, the learning, the team work, awesome. As the company, University Restaurant Group grew, so did he. Working his way up from prep cook, to sous chef, helping the company open up every new restaurant, becoming the corporate executive sous. Restaurants include 555 East, Ocean Ave.
Seafood, Pine Ave. Fish House, i Cugini and finally Watergrill in downtown Los Angeles.
After about 8 years, home was calling and Fathman found himself back in Cincinnati as the chef of the biggest and arguably the best restaurant in town, the Waterfront. A multiunit, floating monster on the Ohio River overlooking the Cincinnati Skyline.
Concepts included afine dining room, Italian casual pizza restaurant, a night club and an outdoor club. The dining scene in the city was primarily meat and potatoes and he started looking east for his next working adventure.
In february of 92 Robert was sitting across the table talking to Ken Himmel and Tim Lynch to discuss his future Grill 23s next executive chef. They struck a deal and the rest is history as they say. Fathman moved to Boston, fell in love with the city, it’s people, the restaurants, the weather, the nor’Easters.. Everything. He’s happy to have called the Boston area home for the last 30 years.
Fathman has had the distinct honor of working with and learning from some of the best of the Boston restaurant scene. His love of hospitality, great food and entertaining is his passion and he strives to make people feel at home and welcome at his place of business as if they were in his own home.
Fathman is married with two children, Sawyer Cash and Emerson. He has a passion for all things musical, loves art history, expressionism in particular, loves history in general, his friends, travel and cooking of course! If he wasn’t teaching he thinks he might be a cultural anthropologist. To relax Fathman plays chess and racquetball (poorly) and cooks well.
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Questions? bailli@chaineboston.com
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