Before his name appeared on James Beard Award lists, and before he launched star-studded restaurants around the globe, Ken Oringer ’87 was a Bryant student with a calling that he couldn’t ignore (one that served him well when, after late-night college parties, he’d raid pantries and prepare on-the-fly dishes to impress girls).
“Every ounce of my blood was pulling me in the direction” of becoming a chef, he says.
Still, his parents insisted he learn how a company works before stepping into a kitchen. “At the end of the day, it made sense,” he says. “I wanted to understand every aspect of running my business.”
After graduating Bryant and attending culinary school, Oringer trained in top New York kitchens before joining the team at Providence’s Al Forno. In 1997, he launched his first restaurant in Boston; Clio (now Uni), a Japanese izakaya tapas bar, thrived during a booming food moment and earned him The James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef – Northeast Award in 2001.
What followed was a string of celebrated concepts: Spanish tapas restaurant Toro, Italian enoteca Coppa, global eatery Little Donkey, and Faccia a Faccia, which serves coastal Italian cuisine. Each was driven by creativity and a deep-seated refusal to stand still.
New ventures are close to his heart: a startup pasta company, Chitarra Pastaria, led by people on the autism spectrum; and a gluten-free cookbook co-written with his daughter, Verveine — who has Celiac disease — when she was just 13. The latter project inspired the gluten-free bakery, Verveine Bakery, that opened in Cambridge in 2024.
Here, Oringer reflects on the lessons that have guided a career of constant invention and re-invention:
Wired for entrepreneurship
“That’s something some people are born with — their foot on the gas pedal. Some people are more cautious. Everyone is different. My brain works a lot differently. I can’t stand being bored. If I’m bored with one concept, I can bounce to another, then come back to it.”
Passion takes you further
“Even when I was at Bryant, a lot of my friends would joke around — ‘What, is Ken just going to be cooking things?’ But very few people get to experience following their passion every day. If you have that passion, it can bring you to a level you could never imagine. The drive will keep you going.”
Build the team, not just the idea
You have to go through challenges and not let anything phase you. S*** happens every day, and you just have to look at it, problem solve, lean on your teams, and move forward. If you create the culture where everyone is working together, you solve things day by day. And before you know it, you’ve built something.”
Prepared for anything
“So many people think of so many reasons not to go for it. A Bryant education means you have a good head on your shoulders. That means you’re already prepared to handle the challenges. Just go for it.”