The Dish: Chef Alfred Portale

The concept was inspired by a recent trip to the Côte d’Azur. When you travel along the French Riviera from Monaco to Menton, you'll find restaurants that serve both Italian and French food. Gotham's new tasting menu has a seafood linguini like you'd find in Cinque Terre but also roast fennel rouget, which is a French specialty. I’m Italian American but lived and trained in France, so I appreciate both cuisines.

My mother made all of her pastas and sauces from scratch. I remember spending many afternoons rolling out raviolis by hand. And at Christmas time, she would make these delicious Italian cookies, and bring a large plate of them to our neighbors. Now I do that.

I began working there 30 years ago. The culture and attitudes in American kitchens are totally different now. Back then you had your stereotypical chef who was screaming at everyone and picking fights with the front and back of the house. He wanted the staff to pay their dues. You don’t see that anymore. Chefs now understand how to motivate in a far more intelligent and sensitive way.

Nose-to-tail cooking. It's impractical for me at Gotham because of the sheer number of people I need to serve on any given night. If I have a pork chop on the menu, I go with a premium cut, so 30 orders of that dish would require me to need at least 4 pigs just for those meals alone.

I am constantly seeking inspiration for new creations, so travel is a huge influence on me. When I was in Antibes, I had bouillabaisse at two of the area’s best restaurants; it was so good I developed a bouillabaisse for Gotham. The same thing happened after traveling to Morocco for the first time and tasting an olive and preserved lemon chicken dish. I've put that recipe on my menus throughout the years and included a version of it in my cookbook Simple Pleasures.

The bouillabaisse royale at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc’s waterfront restaurant. It was a perfect evening...the lobster, the rosé, the setting.

I’ve always wanted a place in London. The rule for any chef is to open a restaurant in a city you love, and London is very high on my travel list.

I like going back to places again and again...like Venice. At this point, the city is very familiar and comfortable, but I always discover something there.

I’ve never gone on a tennis holiday or to a camp, but I always play on vacation. The Villa D'Este, in Lake Como, has these beautiful red clay courts. When you’re traveling, it’s such a luxury to start your day with a match.

I’m a food consultant for Singapore Airlines, so I fly the airline a lot. A flight from Newark to Singapore is 16 and half hours—that’s a long haul. I always make sure to bring a great book (murder mysteries are my favorite) and a great pair of headphones. I love listening to jazz music.