Chef Cesare Casella

Born on 3/1/1960, and grew up among the pots and pans of Vipore, the small trattoria his parents, Rosa and Pietro, owned outside of Lucca, Italy. At age 14, Cesare enrolled in the Culinary Institute Ferdinando Martini, in Montecatini, and sharpened his practical cooking skills while studying the history of food. Career : After graduating, Cesare set about turning Vipore from a local favorite into both a regional and international destination By 1991, Cesare had earned Vipore a Michelin star and a reputation that attracted clients from Henry Kissinger to Tom Cruise. In 1993, Chef Casella was named Executive Chef of Coco Pazzo in New York City. Soon there after, he launched its sister restaurant, Il Toscanaccio. In March 2001, he opened his first solo New York restaurant, Beppe, in honor of his grandfather, Giuseppe Polidori. In 2005, Chef Casella opened the critically-acclaimed Italian restaurant, Maremma which unfortunately closed in mid 2006 to be moved to a new location only to close in 2008. He has also opened Salumeria Rosi, descrived as more a grocery store with 35 dining seats. The author of three books: Diary of a Tuscan Chef, Italian Cooking for Dummies, and True Tuscan, the most important breeder in the United States of chianine and a new hybrid pig called "Stonewall," the owner of Mountain Sweet Berry Farm where he produces beans, vegetables and grain, the owner of Maremma restaurant in Manhattan, and professor at ALMA, Casella is also the Dean of the newly opened Italian Culinary Academy in lower Manhattan.