About Chef Gerard
Biography
Gerard Viverito, a.k.a Chef Gerard, is an American chef of Italian descent. He knew at an early age his passion was to be in the kitchen. As a child, he preferred playing with kitchen gadgets instead of toys and insisted on being in the kitchen with his mother, grandmothers, and aunts, which is where he learned to cook old-school Italian style.
His enthusiasm for all-things-culinary never waned, and as a result, Chef Gerard has spent the past 35 years in the food industry. Of those years, 18 have been spent teaching at The Culinary Institute of America and 10 have been spent as an Executive Chef in the United States and internationally. Additionally, he spent several years as a chef on yachts and living abroad in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Chef Gerard has owned restaurants in the Hudson Valley, NY, including Café Gerard in Germantown and CrúClub Wine Bar in Rhinebeck. His catering is highly sought after and offers a wide range of versatility to accommodate all tastes, from fine-dining to family-style buffets. He consults for domestic and international companies and has made numerous appearances on television, radio, and print media, offering cooking advice and promoting sustainable food products.
Valuing education, he has coauthored four books for The Culinary Institute of America, including, “Professional Chef,” “Garde Manger,” “Hors d’Ouerve at Home,” and “Vegetables.” He is currently working on his own cookbook on functional cooking, a phrase he helped coin, which portrays what he feels is the best approach to a healthy, well-balanced diet for optimal living.
In 2023, Chef Gerard opened his first brick+mortar: Woodpecker General Store, a neighborhood market and deli, in Staatsburg, NY, where all his passions -- cooking, catering, and teaching -- are housed under one roof. The market features his personal line of prime foods and artisan chocolates, as well as hand-chosen regional favorites that highlight the best of what Hudson Valley has to offer.