Wilmington: The Magazine for Fine Cape Fear Living

Excerpted from “The 2008 Top Chefs” by Allison Ballard
Photos by Erin Whittle and Gary Allen
Wilmington: The Magazine for Fine Cape Fear Living
March/April 2008

Chris Lubben
Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen
420 Eastwood Road, Wilmington, 792-6720

Chris Lubben doesn’t own a slicer. That means everything from the house-made corned beef has to the tomato slices that top the sandwiches at Chris’ Cosmic Kitchen are cut and chopped by hand. It’s been a long road to owning a restaurant. Early on, his adopted family encouraged his interest in cooking. After attending culinary school, Lubben spent years working for others. Things finally started to come together more than two years ago, though, when the chef met his birth family and started putting everything in place to open his comfort food eatery. Already, Lubben is starting to make a name for himself — and his out-of-this-world cheesecakes.

Bite-Sized Bits
Age… 36. Hometown… Cleveland. Family influence… My mom and dad were great. They allowed me a lot of independence in the kitchen. In his fridge… Not much these days. I’m always at the restaurant. Apple juice, milk, eggs. Favorite seasoning… Garlic. I love the flavor and the smell. And you get different flavors from different methods of cooking it. Chef’s trick… From my days as a personal chef on Bald Head Island. You just roast a bulb of garlic in tin foil for the smell, even if you’re not using it in the meal. It gets people’s mouths watering. Favorite utensil… It’s a toss up between my chef’s knife or my slicer knife. Last meal on Earth… it would probably be osso buco. Favorite cookbook… The Professional Chef by The Culinary Institute of America. On his decision to go to the culinary institute… My dad worked at a hospital in Cleveland and the chef there went to the CIA. I talked to him about culinary school and what he got out of it. That really helped me make the decision to go. Favorite movie… Star Wars; definitely ahead of its time. Culinary idol… Jeff Bleaken. I learned a lot from him and still draw on that experience. Celebrity dinners… I cooked for Howie Long and his family on Bald Head Island. I thought I was a big guy but Howie and his son, who was 16, were bigger than I am. Drink of choice… Evan Williams bourbon.