THE
^OabO LAB
MASTERING THE ART OF HANDMADE, CHEF EVAN FUNKE BRINGS ITALIAN CUISINE BACK TO THE BASICS
WRITTEN BY: MATILDA BRESS PHOTOGRAPHED BY: MATT DOHENY
THE EXPERT EVAN FUNKE Executive Chef and Owner at Bucato Restaurant
Known For: Making Pasta 100 Percent by Hand
P
assionate is an understatement when describing chef Evan Funke. From teaching all of his pasta chefs the ancient art of handmade, to knowing the soil content of his locally sourced produce, Funke refuses to be average. After spending several years at Wolfgang Puck Catering, Funke studied abroad in Italy and shifted his whole outlook, learning the art of handmade pasta and shining a shimmering spotlight on it at Bucato Restaurant in Los Angeles. Currently, Bucato is the only restaurant in the entire country that makes pasta 100 percent by hand: No rollers and no hand cranks. Disenchanted with the direction in which LA eateries were headed, Funke introduced Bucato to historic Culver City. “The whole purpose of this restaurant is fundamentally and elementally driven. I felt that the status quo lacked in numerous ways,” said Funke. Instead of the fancy techniques and liquid nitrogen used by others, Bucato focuses on the basics. Accountability is ingrained in the walls of the establishment— literally. The Culver City gem features a 20-foot butcher knife outline of California. Various knives in the middle represent the local farmers and growers that provide Bucato with their produce and proteins. Everything is done in-house from butchering to baking, putting simplicity back on the map. More than cooks, these chefs are virtuosos of a disappearing art form and dinner at Bucato is a rare opportunity to experience a masterpiece.
22 |
| NOVEMBER 2014