He is the coauthor with John Willoughby of five cookbooks: the James Beard Cookbook Award winner, The Thrill of the Grill; Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys, and Chowchows; Big Flavors of the Hot Sun; Lettuce in Your Kitchen; and License to Grill. They also have a monthly feature in The New York Times, and have written numerous articles for magazines such as GQ and Food & Wine. Chris is also a contributing editor for Saveur magazine.

An accomplished cooking teacher, Chris has taught culinary students at his alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America, at both the New York and Napa Valley campuses. He was the winner of the 1996 James Beard Awards Best Chef of the Northeast. He has appeared on dozens of television shows around the USA to talk about food and cooking, has been a guest speaker at numerous conferences, and has been featured in over 200 magazine and newspaper articles.