My name is Christopher Papagni. I arrived here last winter after spending 16 years at the French Culinary Institute (FCI) in New York City. The last position I held at the school was Executive Vice President. After completing a Ph.D. at New York University in Education Administration, it seemed logical to marry my love of food with education. FCI was where chefs like Bobby Flay and David Chang went to school to learn basic French technique. While employed at the school I became involved with the James Beard Foundation, The American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF), The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), The Culinary Trust, Spoons Across America, and other culinary foundations and organizations. I have settled here in Portland to enjoy all that a city by the sea has to offer. This is how and when my love affair with food began.
When my father Leo arrived here from Puglia, Italy, in 1925 he took a job as an iceman. He would carry 50 pound blocks of ice on his back, up five or six flights of stairs, when most families had an icebox and tenement living was a way of life in New York City. Leo was 6 foot, 4 inches tall, had big broad shoulders and massive calloused hands. Hauling ice was a living; cooking was his passion and hence, he passed that passion along to me.
