Michael Chiarello (born January 26, 1962) is an American

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

specializing in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-influenced

California cuisine California cuisine is a food movement that originated in California. The cuisine focuses on dishes that are driven by local and sustainable ingredients with an attention to seasonality and an emphasis on the bounty of the region. The food is hi ...

. He hosts the

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...

''Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello'' on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

and hosts ''NapaStyle'' on

Fine Living Network Fine Living (Sometimes called Fine Living Network or FLN) was a European television channel, initially owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive and later by Discovery Inc., from 2018 onwards. It broadcast from to . It featured documenta ...

. Chiarello owns a

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

called Chiarello Family Vineyards, located in Yountville, CA. He is also the owner of Coqueta, which has two locations: one in Napa Valley, California, and one in San Francisco, California. Along with Coqueta, he owns and cooks for Bottega, located in

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. Michael also owns NapaStyle, also located in Yountville, CA which sold a "selection of exclusive drinkware, serveware, designer tabletop pieces, and more.", but closed on January 4, 2016. Chiarello was a competitor on the fourth season of ''

The Next Iron Chef ''The Next Iron Chef'' is a limited-run series on the Food Network that aired its fifth season in 2012. Each season is a stand-alone competition to select a chef to be designated an Iron Chef, who will appear on the Food Network program ''Iron ...

''. In spring 2013, Michael opened Coqueta, a tapas restaurant on San Francisco's waterfront. In March 2016, two former employees filed lawsuits alleging sexual harassment and labor law violations; the sexual harassment lawsuit was settled in 2017.

Early life and career

Born to an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...

family, Chiarello rose to prominence at a young age. After graduating from the

Culinary Institute of America Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

in 1982, he studied hospitality management at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...

, receiving his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1984. The next year, he opened The Grand Bay Hotel in

Coconut Grove, Florida Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

, and Toby's Bar and Grill. He was honored as 1985's Chef of the Year by '' Food & Wine Magazine''. Later in the 1980s, Chiarello moved back to his home state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, making his home in the

. One of his first endeavors was chef at The Heritage Restaurant in Turlock which failed and went bankrupt. He opened the Tra Vigne restaurant, creating a menu influenced by the cuisine of his family's native Calabria and rife with local seasonal ingredients. He has since served as executive chef in numerous American restaurants including Caffe Museo in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, Ajax Tavern and Bump's in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

, and Bisect in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

Sexual Harassment

In March 2016, two former employees filed two lawsuits against Chiarello, alleging sexual harassment and labor law violations. In 2017, the sexual harassment lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

Media career

His first cooking show, ''Season by Season'', debuted on PBS in 2001. He hosted two more series for PBS, ''Michael Chiarello's Napa'' and ''Michael Chiarello's Napa: Casual Cooking'' over the next two years before moving to the

to host ''Easy Entertaining'' in 2003. In 2004, Chiarello's latest show, ''NapaStyle'', premiered on the Food Network's sister network Fine Living Network. Chiarello was included as a contestant on

Top Chef Masters ''Top Chef Masters'' is an American reality competition series that aired on the cable television network Bravo, and premiered June 10, 2009. It is a spinoff of Bravo's hit show ''Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition te ...

, winning his preliminary round and advancing to the championship round, placing second to

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

(first place). Reruns of ''Easy Entertaining'' now appear on Food Network's sister network

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting ...

. In 2011, Chiarello appeared in the

Visit California Visit California is a nonprofit organization self-tasked with developing and maintaining marketing programs to further develop tourism in California. This organization was previously known as the California Travel & Tourism Commission before its ...

promotional film aimed at boosting tourism from the UK.

Personal life

In 2003, Chiarello married Eileen Marie Gordon; with whom he has one son, Aidan, born in 2005. He has three daughters, Margaux, Felicia, and Giana from his previous marriage. In 2019, Chiarello filed for divorce from Gordon.

Cookbooks

* "''Michael Chiarello's Live Fire: 125 Recipes for Cooking Outdoors''" (May 1, 2013) by Michael Chiarello, Claudia Sansone and Ann Krueger Spivack photography b
Frankie Frankeny
* ''Michael Chiarello's Bottega'' (2010), photograph
Frankie Frankeny
* ''At Home with Michael Chiarello'' (2005) * ''Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking'' (2002) * ''Napa Stories'' (2001) * ''Tra Vigne Cookbook'' (1999) * ''Flavored Oils and Flavored Vinegars'' (1995; revised edition 2006)

References

Footnotes

Sources

*
Michael's Bio
. NapaStyle. Retrieved August 17, 2009. *
Michael on TV
. NapaStyle. Retrieved August 17, 2009. *

. Food Network. Retrieved August 17, 2009. *

. Cooking Channel. Retrieved December 19, 2010.

External links

Official Website

NapaStyle
(defunct)
Chiarello Family Vineyards

NapaStyle Wine Club

on ''

Sidewalks Entertainment ''Sidewalks Entertainment'' (1988–present) is a weekly American television series that is a combination of a talk show, magazine show and variety show featuring celebrity interviews, music, artistic and novelty acts, and rising performers. The ...

''
Michael Chiarello
at the Chef and Restaurant Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiarello, Michael 1962 births Living people American male chefs American people of Italian descent People from Red Bluff, California People from Yountville, California Florida International University alumni Culinary Institute of America alumni American television chefs Food Network chefs Chefs of Italian cuisine