Chef Dan Eaton hosts the "Cooking at Home" segment on NY1, each Monday through Wednesday.
Eaton spent his early years on a dairy farm in Vermont where he developed a fondness for foods "straight from the land." Cooking seasonally was more of a necessity then, but he still finds local ingredients, in season, a driving force behind his menu creations.
After resettling in upstate New York, Eaton attended Alfred State College, where he was exposed to ceramics through the world-renowned art department at Alfred University. Making pottery became a favorite passion that continues today, and some of the plates and bowls seen on Cooking at Home segments are actually original, handmade pieces.
After college, Eaton moved to Rochester and began apprenticing at local upscale restaurants. He considers himself a self-taught chef.
Over the course of his 20-year culinary career, Eaton has had intensive stints with some of the country's most well-known chefs, including David Bouley in New York and Richard Reddington in California. He had a short turn through Thomas Keller's French Laundry, also in California, and in December 2003 he was invited by the French Culinary Institute to cook at the renowned James Beard House in New York City.