Eric DiStefano

The Climb

At Penn State, Eric DiStefano paired study with restaurant work, and that shift from classroom to service gave him his footing in the trade. He later moved into the Manhattan dining room scene and worked with Daniel Boulud. The next stages moved through hotel and restaurant kitchens rather than a single style. Eric DiStefano stepped in as Head Chef at Hotel Hershey, Pennsylvania, then worked at restaurants around the world, including in South Africa, before heading to Manhattan to work with Daniel Boulud at Daniel Boulud in Manhattan, New York. After Manhattan, the work moved to Santa Fe. Eric DiStefano served as chef at a ten-room inn for Daniel's business partner in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and went on to build a long base there that now includes Geronimo, Coyote Café, and Stats.

Today

At Geronimo, Eric DiStefano’s cooking centers on Southwestern cuisine, and the role is paired with co-ownership. The same structure carries at Coyote Café in Santa Fe, where he serves as Executive Chef and co-owner. Longevity is part of the record here. Eric DiStefano says, "I have been there for 18 years." In a city where kitchens can turn over quickly, that kind of tenure puts him among Santa Fe’s most established operators.

In Their Words “I went to college at Penn State and worked at a restaurant while in school and fell in love with the restaurant scene.”

Recognition

Eric DiStefano has received James Beard Foundation Best Chef of the Southwest Semifinalist (2008). The line from Penn State to Manhattan to Santa Fe is the shape of Eric DiStefano’s career. It moves from training and early kitchen work into a set of Santa Fe posts that includes Geronimo and Coyote Café.