As part of an ongoing series that asks people to reminisce about their first cars, the Chicago Tribune talks with Grant Achatz about his beloved 1970 Pontiac GTO, which he and his father restored when Achatz was 16 years old. Re-hashing an anecdote from his 2011 autobiography Life, on the Line, Achatz recounts how his father sold the car to his cousin a few years later, but this video provides a happy update: Achatz's business partner Nick Kokonas famously surprised him by tracking the car down and presenting the same Pontiac GTO to Achatz in 2011.
Achatz also describes the parallels between building cars and cooking: "I'm fascinated by the way things come together," he says, "and I respect the ingenuity that it took to build something, in the same way that I build menus." Go, watch:
Video: Grant Achatz: My First Car
· Grant Achatz: My First Car [Chicago Tribune]
· All Grant Achatz Coverage on Eater [-E-]