Chef Partner Jim Botsacos

Founding chef/partner of Molyvos, New York’s beloved Greek restaurant, Jim Botsacos has been serving the best in authentic, elevated Greek cuisine since the restaurant opened in 1997. Over the last 14 years, Botsacos has added his own creative inspiration to the traditional cuisine of Greece, paying homage to time-honored recipes, while infusing modern touches. Through his talent, skill, and vision Botsacos has elevated Molyvos to the highest levels of taste and sophistication.

Botsacos also is chef/partner of Abboccato, which opened in October 2004. Within the Italian restaurant, located in Midtown Manhattan, Botsacos creates a menu of updated Italian classics, reminiscent of his Italian heritage.

Botsacos has garnered much media attention for both Molyvos and Abboccato including features in the New York Times, Esquire, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Edible Manhattan, and others. He has also appeared on the “Martha Stewart Show,” CBS’s “Early Show,” PBS’s “Holiday Table,” The Food Network, “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” Fox “Good Day New York,” was the host of 13 episodes of ESPN’s Cold Pizza,” and was featured on NBC’s “Today Show” while in Greece during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.

In addition to the dynamic menus at Molyvos and Abboccato, the guest’s experience is paramount. “The central issue for me,” says Botsacos, “is figuring out how to transport customers, not only through what is on their plate, whether Italian or Greek, but through every single aspect of the dining experience with us,” he says. “In New York it is difficult to get people to forget about what’s outside, so I make sure that we offer food, atmosphere, service, and attention as it exists in Greece and Italy. And then it’s up to diners to close the door to the outside world and let us transport them.”

Born and raised in New York, Botsacos celebrates his Greek and Italian heritage at Molyvos and Abboccato. Having learned to cook from long line of chefs and restaurateurs, Botsacos’s culinary journey began at a young age. While his mother cooked the family’s day-to-day meals, it was his father’s innovative spirit and creativity in the kitchen that inspired him to experiment with food.

Botsacos went on to study at Johnson & Wales in Rhode Island, the largest culinary institute in the U.S, and graduated with honors in 1987. While a student at Johnson & Wales he honed classic cooking skills and incorporated his Greek and Italian backgrounds to create a unique culinary style that showcases traditional Mediterranean influences combined with classic techniques.

Botsacos’s career has spanned New York’s finest restaurants, including seven years at The 21 Club, working with some of the industry’s most renowned chefs, including Alain Sailhac, Michael Lomanaco, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Daniel Bruce. Botsacos also served as executive chef for two of Stephen Hanson’s most popular venues: Park Avalon and Blue Water Grill at the age of 24.

In addition to being the Chef/Partner for Molyvos and Abboccato restaurant, Botsacos is the author of The New Greek Cuisine cookbook which launched in October of 2006, published by Broadway Books. In April of 2011 Botsacos launched New Greek Foods LLC and introduced the first of many products in the line which includes his own private label Greek extra virgin olive oil under the brand New Greek Cuisine by Chef Jim Botsacos. Botsacos is also working on building his product line with Greek inspired foods such as spreads, frozen foods and desserts.

Botsacos, currently lives in New York with his wife, Maria, who is the proprietor of MAR Events, an event planning company, and their two children, Sofia and Dimitri.