Chris Curtiss, Former Chef at Noca, Not Doing Much — Just Training Chefs in Moscow and Cooking With Barbara Fenzl and Pascal Dionot

Yeah, he didn’t stay quiet for long. Chris Curtiss, the former chef at Noca who left his position in June and is now the catering director for One Step Beyond Inc., a community-outreach program in northwest Phoenix for people with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and autism, has found himself a few side projects to keep his culinary insprirado bubbling.

This fall, Curtiss will head to Moscow (in Russia, not Idaho) for two weeks to train chefs at seasoned restaurateur Isaac Correa’s restaurant, The Black Market, a chic, upscale eatery serving modern American cuisine. Seems Lenard Rubin, executive chef and partner at The Vig and The Vig Uptown (and former corporate executive chef at Rosinter Restaurants in Moscow) helped to hook up Curtiss and Correa.

“I’ve never been to Russia,” Curtiss told me. “And I’m not sure what to expect when it comes to teaching chefs in another country how to prepare my food. It should be interesting.”

Curtiss has also lined up a couple of cooking classes with some Valley favorites.

In October, Curtiss told me he will partner will Barbara Fenzl, chef, cookbook author, and former host of the 13-part PBS television series, “Savor the Southwest” for cooking classes at Les Gourmettes in Phoenix, the school Fenzl founded in 1983.

In addition, Curtis will be cooking with chef and director Pascal Dionot, former executive chef at several notable Washington, D.C. fine dining restaurants, at Classic Cooking in North Scottsdale. Curtiss told me he’s still working on the dates.

I’ll keep you posted on additional details on chef Curtiss’ cooking classes as they become available.