Chris Cullum

Beginnings

Restaurant work showed up early as a lesson in visibility and labor: the dining room taught Chris Cullum that service is only partly about what reaches the table, and the kitchen taught him the discipline that sits underneath it. As a teenager, he was close enough to the pulse of the room to see both sides of the work, then cleaned the kitchen there and learned the repetition, stamina, and quiet coordination that make service look smooth after the fact. By the time he said, "I want to go into the restaurant business," the decision had already been earned in practice. “Dad is Attaboy. He helped out so many people, preserved the music.” “He was a genuine old soul who preserved San Antonio.”

The Rise

Owning a title changes the work from technique to responsibility. At The Landing, Chris Cullum moved onto the other side of the same labor he had first learned there, carrying not just the cooking but the obligations that come with a place attached to your name. The shift marked a move from back-of-house discipline to stewardship, where consistency matters as much as execution. Abruzzese cooking set the next register. At Da Giocondo, the food is grounded in arrosticini rather than broad regional display, and the room is shaped by a few clear choices: daily specials that follow the season, house-made pastas given their own names, and a short regional wine list. The result is a kitchen that stays close to its place and keeps the menu in direct conversation with it. Recognition came in sequence, and it stayed specific to the work. The Michelin Guide awarded Da Giocondo in Rivisondoli a Bib Gourmand in 2024, again in 2025, and again in 2026. The repeat honors register as confirmation of consistency, not flourish.

Today

At Da Giocondo in Rivisondoli, Italy, Chris Cullum cooks within Abruzzi tradition, with arrosticini holding the center of the menu. The dish is the clearest expression of the kitchen’s identity, tying the restaurant to local practice and giving the dining room a fixed point of reference. Seasonality comes through in daily specials, while the house-made pastas, each with its own name, add detail without crowding the plate. The short regional wine list keeps the meal tied to the surrounding landscape. Taken together, these choices describe a kitchen working with restraint, structure, and attention to place. His career has crossed borders, but the early lessons remain visible: labor matters, repetition matters, and a restaurant only works when the room and the back of house are both held with care.

Signature

Chris's signature dishes include arrosticini.

In Their Words “Dad is Attaboy. He helped out so many people, preserved the music.” “He was a genuine old soul who preserved San Antonio.”