Rising Star Chefs 2010

You might say our Rising Star Chefs have come of age: For 18 years we've turned the spotlight on emerging young talent who we think will make an important impact both locally and nationally, people such as Michael Mina, Charles Phan and Melissa Perello. They're among the 90 or so we've profiled over the years.

Many still live in the Bay Area, though some, like Daniel Humm, now at Eleven Madison Park in New York, and Ken Oringer of Clio and other restaurants in Boston, have found their niche in other places.

This year's crop looks just as promising. And as with most years, there's a thread that binds the candidates and follows trends in dining or kitchen dynamics.

What you see on this page, for example, is five male faces - that's a departure from other years. Try as we did to diversify the pool, these guys kept rising to the top. All of them have cooked at Michelin-starred restaurants, though at least one is now choosing a more casual path to stardom and another is wowing diners at a "pop-up" restaurant.

What's not so evident is that three of our five Rising Stars have cooking in their blood - Jean Paul Carmona was born in El Salvador, where his family owned a farm and restaurant, Charlie Kleinman was reared in a New York restaurant family, and Perry Hoffman began working at The French Laundry before it was even a gleam in Thomas Keller's eye. His grandmother was Sally Schmitt, the original owner.

So lift a glass of sparkling wine (Domaine Chandon, of course, in respect for Hoffman), to our 2010 Rising Star Chefs. Each chef has also provided a recipe that reflects his individual style, scaled down and tested for the home kitchen. We're confident we'll be tasting much more from all of them in the years to come.

-- Chef profiles, recipes and catching up with last year's stars. K4-K6

- Michael Bauer, Chronicle executive food and wine editor This article has been corrected since it appeared in print editions.

This article appeared on page K - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle