Mama Terano’s Boy Chef: Robert Bell
Most chefs have someone in their background who inspired them to get into cooking, often a kitchen veteran who saw promise in a new dishwasher and evolved from a boss to a mentor. In the case of Robert Bell, chef and co-owner of Chez Melange, the inspiration started at home in Brooklyn, where his Italian grandparents taught him a reverence for good cooking. “My grandmother was a fun-loving immigrant who came to America at the turn of the century as a child. I lived with them for a few years and what I remember was how much they laughed. They were such happy people, and they adored food. Maybe this was typical of Southern Italian immigrants, but to my family good food was the most important thing. Without good food on the table, they had no status. My mother told me that on her first year of high school she didn’t have enough money for school supplies because they were celebrating someone’s birthday and they used the money to buy veal.” “My grandmother was a good cook because she had to be. In those days you started cooking when you were little because… that’s just what you did. My grandmother never really taught me how to cook, but what she and that family did was enable me to see…
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