Meet Your Chef: George Washington Pincay
Get to know your Vail Valley chefs
George Washington Pincay/Courtesy photo
Q: What is your name, where do you cook and what is your official title?
A: My name is George Washington Pincay. I am the executive chef at the Golden Eagle Inn in Beaver Creek Village.
Q: How long have you lived in the valley and what brought you here?
A: I’ve been in the valley now for a little over two years. My wife wanted a change of scenery from Texas, so she helped me on the job hunt. I had offers from Boston, Massachusetts, Hunter, Rhode Island, Los Angeles and of course Colorado. It was an easy choice for us after speaking with Don Bird and David Bird at the Golden Eagle Inn.
Q: When did you first realize that you wanted to become a chef?
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A: I knew I wanted to be a chef the moment I stepped into culinary school. I attended Le Cordon Bleu in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I felt like I belonged again. It resembled being in the military and I was trained under amazing mentors.
Q: Who has inspired you throughout your culinary journey?
A: Anthony Mazzotta, Jacob Hilbert, my kids and lastly my mother who always looked at food as a gathering of love and memories.
Q: What’s your favorite spice?
A: My favorite spice would be bay leaf. It goes a long way when braising or pickling. Bay leaves bring back nostalgic memories of my mother’s cooking.
Q: Favorite protein?
A: Lobster! Lobster was the first thing I cooked for Jasper White, renowned New England chef. I learned many ways to prepare lobster. Nothing beats a lobster roll on the Cape on a hot summer day.
Q: Favorite fruits and veggies?
A: Being a California native I love citrus! Kumquats rank high among my favorite fruit. My favorite vegetable would be sunchoke, also known as Jerusalem Artichoke. It tastes like earth and good dirt.
Q: Name your carb: pasta, potatoes, rice, polenta, etc.?
A: My carb choice is rice. I grew up with rice. Sometimes for breakfast, sometimes for lunch and dinner.
Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A: My favorite comfort food would be lentils and a fried egg or also my wife’s sloppy joes. (it’s the green chiles).
Q: Is there anything else about you we should share?
A: I love what I do and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I see the world through a lens of cultural diversity and I pass along that vision with my kids. I am a father of four wonderful kids and married to my queen who has been a huge support for our success. I am a 10th Mountain Division combat veteran. I served as a Combat Engineer in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003. I love snowboarding! I picked it up last season and it lets my keep a balance in life. In the summer I mountain bike. I have embraced the mountain lifestyle and am watching my kids follow in my footsteps. They love being outside.
