Chef Brennan: Bio

Terrance Brennan is the Chef-Proprietor of The Artisanal Group (Picholine Restaurant, Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar, Bar Artisanal, Artisanal Brasserie & Winebar, and The Artisanal Table Pizzeria Enoteca).

The son of Annandale, Virginia restaurateurs, Brennan began cooking at the age of 13. Following positions at several Washington, D.C. restaurants and hotels, he served as a saucier and sous chef at the renowned Le Cirque restaurant and worked in many of Europe's greatest kitchens including Taillevent, Le Tour d'Argent, Moulin de Mougin, Gualtiero Marchesi, Les Crayeres and La Gavroche. Brennan's signature culinary style took form while working under Chef Roger Vergé at Le Moulin de Mougins in the south of France. Inspired by the region's "cuisine of the sun," Brennan returned to New York City and refined his art as Chef at Annabelle's, the Hotel Westbury's Polo restaurant, and Prix Fixe.

In 1993, Brennan opened his first restaurant, Picholine, which quickly earned three stars from The New York Times for its sumptuous French-Mediterranean fare. For the past 15 years, it has been the highest rated Mediterranean restaurant in the New York edition of Zagat Survey. It was here that Brennan introduced the traditional European cheese course to American diners. In September 2006, he re-designed the restaurant’s décor and menu, earning the restaurant another three stars from The New York Times, four stars from Crain’s New York Business, and four stars from New York magazine. The restaurant received a James Beard Foundation nomination for the country’s Outstanding Restaurant in 2007 and was awarded two stars in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 editions of Michelin Guide New York City.

Brennan extended his groundbreaking cheese service in 2001 with the opening of Artisanal, a fromagerie bistro-wine bar which was awarded Best Brasserie Cuisine in the 2002 Zagat Survey. Over 160 wines by the glass are available to pair with an enticing selection of cheeses, seasonal fondues, and the city’s finest French brasserie cuisine.

Further demonstrating his passion for hand-crafted cheese, Brennan founded Artisanal Premium Cheese, a 10,000-square-foot facility dedicated to the selection, maturation and distribution of the world's finest artisanal cheeses in 2003. Home to five custom-designed cheese caves where more than 300 expert-selected cheeses are aged to peak ripeness and flavor for distribution to America's top-rated restaurants and connoisseur, the cheese center also hosts educational classes for consumer and professional audiences.

A frequent guest on the TODAY Show, Brennan has also appeared on, FOX Business Network Television Food Network, PBS, The Martha Stewart Show, CBS’s The Early Show, MSNBC and Live with Regis and Kelly. Named a Best New Chef by Food & Wine magazine in 1995, Brennan is a six-time nominee for Best Chef: New York by the James Beard Foundation. In 2007, Brennan set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest fondue, weighing 2,100 pounds. He shares his love of artisanal ingredients in his cookbook, Artisanal Cooking: A Chef Shares His Passion for Handcrafting Great Meals at Home (Wiley, 2005).