Alfred Portale is the chef and co-owner of one of New York's most celebrated restaurants, Gotham Bar and Grill.

Portale started out his career in, of all things, jewelry design, switching to food in the '70s, supposedly after reading Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The first time he applied to the Culinary Institute of America, he was rejected, but a year later, after he'd gained some experience at an Italian restaurant in Buffalo, he reapplied and was accepted. He ended up graduating first in his class, and in 1985 restaurateur Jerry Kretchmer tapped 28-year-old Portale to revive his sagging Village eatery Gotham, which was teetering on the brink of closure. The young chef promptly transformed the restaurant into a three-star powerhouse, gaining fame for his so-called "architectural" approach to food, which consists of tall, elaborately-constructed dishes reminiscent of buildings.

Gotham continues to impress diners and critics more than two decades later, and it's become an institution on the city's dining scene. Portale has also developed a reputation as one of New York's best culinary talent scouts: now-famous chefs he discovered and groomed include Tom Colicchio, Tom Valenti, Gary Robbins, and Bill Telepan. He's also begun to branch out (at a snails pace compared to other star-chefs) with a second outpost in Miami. Portale's not camera-shy either; he occasionally pops up on the CBS Early Show and Top Chef. [Image via Getty]