born in wray, colorado, he moved to new york city in 1981 to pursue a career as a food writer. working at a local gourmet shop on the upper west side, he worked with the shop's owners, julee rosso and sheila lukins, to publish "the silver palate cookbook" in 1983. the book has sold in excess of 2 million copies. one year later, he opened his own restaurant in greenwich village, the manhattan chili company, emphasizing innovative southwest fare.