Dave Brennan
Owner and Executive Chef David Brennan of Reading, Pennsylvania's landmark restaurant, The Chat-A-While Inn, came to Berks County with a wealth of nationwide culinary experience and a passion for Italian cuisine. His travels take him from New York to Seattle to rural Pennsylvania. After graduating in 1983 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Brennan headed across the country to Seattle, Washington for a stint at Fuller's restaurant. Tired of the West and eager to return to his native Pennsylvania, Brennan headed back East to work as Executive Chef at The Skippack Roadhouse in Skippack, PA and the Fagleysville Hotel in Fagleysville, PA. For Brennan, this move marked the beginning of close to 10 years of working and learning at different Pennsylvania restaurants.
In 1985, Brennan was asked to join the team of the nationally acclaimed Ristorante DiLullo and soon became its Sous Chef. Soon after, Brennan was back in his hometown of Pottstown, working as Executive Chef of the Brookside Country Club. In 1990, Brennan returned to work with the DiLullo team to become the Executive Chef at Philadelphia's prestigious DiLullo Centro. There he had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the finest chefs in the world, including Marcella Hazan, Lorenza De Medici, Faith Wellinger, Anna Tasca-Lanza, George Perrier and Guiliano Bugialli. Bugialli was so impressed with the young chef that he asked Brennan to join him in Stowe, Vermont to host the International Food Show in the summer of 1997. As with most ambitious chefs, Brennan dreamed of someday owning his own restaurant.
In July of 1998, close to 15 years after graduating from culinary school, Brennan, along with his partner, Robert Wizinski, opened The Chat-A-While Inn in Reading, PA. The restaurant's cuisine is primarily Tuscan with a few Mediterranean flairs. Recently, The Chat-A-While opened an Italian take-out market with pizzas, panini, pastas, buffalo mozzarella, artisan breads, assorted olive oils, and aged balsamic vinegars. Take a trip to The Chat-A-While Inn for a sumptuous taste of Italy in rural Pennsylvania.
Chef's Recipes :
Baked Red MulletCheck our Calendar to find out about Chef's Night Demos
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