Richard Vellante, Executive Chef & VP of Restaurants

Richard Vellante, in his twelfth year with Legal Sea Foods, is the force behind Legal’s hospitality mission. Driving operations from the kitchen to menus to the host stand, and overseeing culinary staff in 30+ restaurants, Vellante collaborates directly with company President Roger Berkowitz. Together, the pair ensure Legal’s stature as Boston’s most popular restaurant while expanding that reputation as a perennial and award-winning favorite. Their current challenge is opening an Atlanta (GA) outpost in Spring 2008.

 

Vellante’s experience and background are ideally suited to the Legal Sea Foods mandate of serving only fresh, top-quality seafood. As the former owner of a three-star restaurant, he brings the personal focus and quality perspective of a chef-owned establishment to the corporate powerhouse that is Legal Sea Foods, Inc. Vellante is the final authority on fish purchasing, which is the core of the company’s success story. He directs skilled sous chefs and culinary directors to execute seasonal promotions, enforce rigorous quality control / food safety inspections, and explore hot-button matters of sustainability and environmental responsibility. Through staff training and at-table testing, he supports Sandy Block, Legal’s Master of Wine, to make food-and-wine pairing an essential component of dining satisfaction for Legal guests.  

 

A highlight of Vellante’s tenure is the development of LTK (Legal Test Kitchen). This hip venture is a high-tech alternative to the traditional Legal Sea Foods experience. Classic Legal serves upscale New England fare in a warm comfortable setting, but LTK challenges diners with streamlined styling, totally wired ambiance, and globally-accented dishes that encourage grazing and experimentation. Another concept steered by Vellante is Legal C Bar. This quick-turnaround place, set in a busy international airport, favors time-sensitive cooking for travelers who crave healthy delicious Legal favorites. Everything about C Bar is designed for an airport guest’s comfort and convenience while still delivering a high-quality experience.

 

A graduate of Hamilton College, Vellante studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York City and served as Chef at Waltham’s acclaimed Allegro. He studied an additional two years in Italy, cooking his way through several provinces using traditional, farm-fresh ingredients and seafood. “The passion and simplicity of food in the Italian culture greatly influenced my approach to cooking and culinary techniques.”

 

Vellante earned a Chef 2000 award, was voted “Menu Strategist of the Year” by Restaurant Business magazine and among the nation’s Top 50 R&D Chefs by Nation’s Restaurant News. He twice designed and executed elaborate dinners for the Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs of international French gastronomists. He was the first civilian chef in US history to cook for the nation’s Senators (2002 and 2004).   He’s repeated as guest chef at the prestigious James Beard House and Culinary Foundation in New York City; lectured on emerging trends in seafood; promoted local, sustainable, organic products; and hosted a Share Our Strength fundraiser.   He chairs Legal’s annual Leadership Conference.  

 

Spearheading Legal’s Spring 2002 promotion, The Spices of Life, he teamed with two master chefs from Southern India to create an Ayurvedic-influenced menu of exotic spiced foods. During the East Coast press tour, Vellante appeared on radio and television and hosted a seminar for The Smithsonian Institution.

 

For the popular TV Food Network, Vellante appeared on “Food Nation” and “Sara’s Secrets.”  For “B. Smith with Style,” he toured the historic Gloucester (MA) fish auction, dispensing advice on choosing supremely fresh and healthy seafood. Other credits include “Chef on a Shoestring”, “Healthy Kids”, “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” about.com video series of cooking demos, and two “Days of Taste” children’s seminars for the American Institute of Food & Wine.     Culinary and nutritional training for kids is a particular interest for Vellante, since he is the father of two young children.