The American-Italian Dream
Chef Cristina Bowerman and Glass Hostaria
L ike the trademark shock of pink hair Chef Cristina Italian background, she was hired by Spectrum Foods in Southern California, a high-end restaurant management company with a strong focus on Italian food. “They literally dragged me around all these restaurants and ask me questions like, ‘Is this really Italian? Is this good?’” she says. Then she moved on to work as a graphic designer for the next 10 years. That was when she started cooking more seriously. She hosted friends every weekend and realized that culinary art was what really stoked her passion. So, she attended Le Cordon Bleu school in Austin, Texas, and planned to stage back home in Italy, then eventually return Stateside. However, things changed while she was in Rome. She started working at Convivio Troiani, became the head chef of two restaurants, and shortly thereafter, took over the reins of Glass Hostaria. Within a few years, in 2010, Glass Hostaria was awarded a Michelin star, the first one-starred restaurant in Italy without white tablecloth. Bowerman sports, her strong and bright personality is unmistakable. Born in a very small village called Cerignola in Apulia of Southern Italy, she studied foreign languages and attended law school. Her career started as an attorney in one of the most prestigious foreign firms, but after a few years, she decided to take a long trip to the United States. Through different circumstances and influenced by her BY CARY WONG
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