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Sara Jenkins

Sara Jenkins

Sara Jenkins is based in New York City, where she has developed a reputation as a fine rustic Italian chef. She runs Porchetta, an Italian sandwich shop, and Porsena, a casual restaurant focusing on classic Italian pastas. More

Sara Jenkins is based in New York City, where she has developed a reputation as a fine rustic Italian chef.  As Mario Batali put it, "She is one of the few chefs in America who understands Italy and how Italians eat." Sara is also the author, with Mindy Fox, of Olives and Oranges: Recipes and Flavor Secrets from Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Beyond, released by Houghton Mifflin in September 2008.

The daughter of a foreign correspondent and a food writer, Sara grew up all over the Mediterranean, eating her way through several cultures and learning to cook what appealed to her. She began her professional career in the kitchen with Todd English at Figs in Boston, then went on to work as a chef in Florence and the Tuscan countryside, as well as on the Caribbean island of Nevis, before returning to the U.S.

In New York City, Jenkins became chef at I Coppi, earning that restaurant two stars from The New York Times. After similar turns at Il Buco, Patio Dining, and 50 Carmine, she began work on her own cookbook.

In September 2008 she and her cousin Matthew opened Porchetta, a storefront in the East Village focusing on porchetta, a highly seasoned roast pork common in Italy as street food or festival food sold out of a truck as a sandwich.  Porchetta has been wildly successful in New York City, both with gourmands and ordinary folk alike. Porchetta was awarded the top spot in Time Out New York's "100 best things we ate in 2008" and also received a four-star review from New York magazine.

In 2010, Sara Jenkins will open Porsena, a simple and casual restaurant down the street from Porchetta focusing on classic Italian pastas.
American Chefs Need to Curb Their Wanderlust

American Chefs Need to Curb Their Wanderlust

It's natural to look across the ocean for inspiration. But restaurants in the United States often leave out two crucial ingredients: integrity and tradition.… More »

In Italian Food, What's Authentic and Does It Really Even Matter?

In Italian Food, What's Authentic and Does It Really Even Matter?

Italians are passionate about their food culture, but the ingredients we eat and how we eat them are constantly evolving and changing over time.… More »

The Olive Harvest: Picking in an Ancient Etruscan Hill Town

The Olive Harvest: Picking in an Ancient Etruscan Hill Town

In November, after the trees have had time to produce, the author gathers friends and spends days in a remote hamlet behind Cortona.… More »

One Year After Opening Porsena, Its Chef Shares a Few Lessons

One Year After Opening Porsena, Its Chef Shares a Few Lessons

Sara Jenkins is good at change, and drama, and do-or-die behavior, but now that it's a must, she's finally learning how to stay focused… More »

In Defense of Italian Food: Regional, Diverse, and Refined

In Defense of Italian Food: Regional, Diverse, and Refined

Even as Italian cooking grows in popularity it still can't gain the respect that French food once had or that Nouvelle Spanish food has… More »

A Chef's Confession: It's Tough to Always Be an Outsider

A Chef's Confession: It's Tough to Always Be an Outsider

Restaurants are filled with friendship—but this restaurateur longs for ordinary pleasures that the cooking life lacks… More »

Why Home-Style Cooking Will Always Beat Restaurant-Style

Why Home-Style Cooking Will Always Beat Restaurant-Style

A restaurateur makes her case for simplicity, good ingredients, and not overwhelming eaters with fat and salt… More »

My Favorite Chef in Italy: A Lesson From One of the Greats

My Favorite Chef in Italy: A Lesson From One of the Greats

A crazy, pork-liver-filled, spur-of-the-moment dinner reminds a restaurateur of the value of cooking with restraint… More »

Olive Oil: A Chef Challenges the Conventional Wisdom

Olive Oil: A Chef Challenges the Conventional Wisdom

The owner of Porsena says olive oil can be used for everything—even frying—and she often prefers Greek oils to Italian… More »

Recipe: Palestinian Salad Dressing (and Salad)

Lots of fresh garlic and lemon enliven this flavorful salad… More »

Part of Opening a Restaurant: Learning to Live With Yelp

Part of Opening a Restaurant: Learning to Live With Yelp

Negative user reviews make a restaurateur wonder: What are the perfect restaurants where these people have been eating?… More »

Recipe: Pasta With Red Wine Redux

This pasta recipe proves that it's more than fine to cook with corked wine—as long as it's only lightly corked… More »

You Can't Just Run Off to Hanoi: A Restaurateur's Struggles

You Can't Just Run Off to Hanoi: A Restaurateur's Struggles

Her kitchen in turmoil, a chef imagines fleeing to a colonial villa—but knows that pressing forward is what her job is all about… More »

Recipe: Porsena's Family Pasta

This easy pasta recipe provides a decent and affordable meal for a restaurant staff or your own family… More »

Final Tinkering at a Soon-to-Open Restaurant: The Wine List

Final Tinkering at a Soon-to-Open Restaurant: The Wine List

The owner of New York's Porsena, which opens this week, tries to pick wines that have the integrity of her pasta al pomodoro… More »

Recipe: Pasta al Pomodoro

A pasta dish appropriate for a desert island. Add chili peppers, ricotta, or other ingredients for endless variations.… More »

Don't Fuss Over Fresh Pasta: The Dried Stuff Is Better

Don't Fuss Over Fresh Pasta: The Dried Stuff Is Better

Americans associate fresh, handmade pasta with quality and technique. But Porchetta's chef prefers an everyday bowl of penne.… More »

Recipe: Pennette With Brussels Sprout Leaves and Bacon

The classic combination of Brussels sprouts and bacon is reworked in this pasta recipe, which highlights the texture of the individual Brussels sprout leaves… More »

The Dark Side of Benefit Dinners: A Chef's Perspective

The Dark Side of Benefit Dinners: A Chef's Perspective

Porchetta's chef supports charity dinners, but not if they're wasteful, don't give much to charity, and distract her from her restaurant… More »

Recipe: Cold Cauliflower Soup With Curried Crabmeat

This soup combines a plebeian ingredient luxuriousness of shellfish to wonderful effect… More »

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