Fabio Viviani (born October 10, 1978, in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) is a

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

, restaurateur, and cookbook writer who has appeared on reality television. He also sells a range of wines. In 2005 he moved from Florence to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. In 2008 he appeared on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

competition series ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

'', where he was voted the "fan favorite"; since then he has had a second career as a television host, on-air personality and product pitchman.

Early life

Fabio Viviani grew up in

. At age 11 he worked nights at a local bakery (since he was too young to officially join the staff) and held several positions in the restaurant industry during his teenage years. In 1992, 14-year-old Viviani began working at the Il Pallaio

trattoria A trattoria is an Italian eatery, generally less formal than a ''ristorante'' () but more formal than an '' osteria''. A trattoria rooted in tradition, typically, is without a printed menu, with casual service, wine sold by the decanter rathe ...

in Florence, which served Italian

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a ...

and had a 120-seat cover, becoming

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members o ...

by age 16, mentored by Italian restaurateur Simone Mugnaini. He was married to Jessica in Italy and she was watching the restaurants while he was competing on Top Chef.

Career

Viviani owned and operated seven restaurants in Florence, a farm house and 2 nightclubs by the time he was 27. In late 2005 he moved to Ventura County, CA, US and opened Café Firenze in Moorpark and, soon after, LA Italian restaurant Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood. Teaming up with Chicago's Dine, Amic Group, Viviani opened a third restaurant called Siena Tavern in Chicago in February 2013. Siena Tavern was reviewed favorably by the Chicago Tribune, Thrillist, and others. He also opened Mercato by Fabio Viviani for corporate lunches at two locations in Chicago. In February 2017, Chef Viviani opened a restaurant called Portico at the del Lago Resort and Casino in

Tyre, New York Tyre is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 1,002 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Lebanese city of Tyre. The Town of Tyre is located in the northeastern part of the county, northeast of Geneva ...

Viviani holds several endorsement and licensing contracts with Bertolli Olive Oil, Smart Step Home Kitchen Mats, Picnic Time Giftware, and Bialetti Cookware. Viviani runs a website, www.fabioviviani.com, with original recipes, his Kitchen Academy blog, and upcoming events. In 2014 Viviani launched a free bi-weekly E-Magazine titled Fabio's Magazine, with recipes, wine blogs, lifestyle and health-related articles, and other content. In late 2018 Viviani, and Oklahoma City chef Jonathon Stranger, launched Osteria OKC in

Nichols Hills Nichols Hills is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 3,870 as of the 2020 census, a 4.3% increase from 2010. History The 1,280 acres now known as Nichols Hills ...

, an upscale residential and shopping city within the Oklahoma City metro.

Television

Viviani's first appearance on television was as a contestant on the fifth season of

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''

'' on the

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

network. He came in fourth place, and was voted "''Top Chef'' Fan Favorite" by viewers.Andriani, Lynn, ''Publishers Weekly'' (March 8, 2009)
Top Chef’s Fabio Self Publishes Cookbook
/ref> Viviani returned to the show in 2010 to compete on '' Top Chef: All Stars''. In 2012, he was one of four ''Top Chef'' alumni whose lives were followed on the Bravo reality show ''

Life After Top Chef ''Life After Top Chef'' is an American reality television series that aired on the Bravo television network. It premiered on October 3, 2012. Premise The series follows former ''Top Chef'' contestants Richard Blais ('' Top Chef: Chicago'', '' T ...

'', which lasted for one season. He was also the host of ''Chow Ciao'', a web series on

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

, for which he won a

Webby Award The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

for "Best Web Personality/Host" in 2012. Viviani has appeared in a number of television cooking segments and been a guest on television shows including ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'', '' The Talk'', ''

The Chew ''The Chew'' is an American cooking-themed talk show that aired for seven seasons from September 26, 2011, to June 28, 2018, having replaced the soap opera ''All My Children'', on ABC as part of the network's weekday daytime lineup. The name w ...

'', ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

'', '' Good Day LA'', ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', briefly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...

'', ''

The Queen Latifah Show ''The Queen Latifah Show'' is an American television talk show hosted by Queen Latifah. The original ''The Queen Latifah Show'' ran from September 13, 1999, to August 31, 2001. The revamped ''The Queen Latifah Show'' ran from September 16, 2013, ...

'' and '' Bethenny'', as well as hosting a regular spot on the channel

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised Shopping channel, home shopping, owned by QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group). Founded in 19 ...

selling kitchen products. He was also a guest host on the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

series ''Home and Family'',

Books

Viviani's first cookbook, ''Cafe Firenze Cookbook: Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons'' was published in August 2009. It was followed by ''Fabio's Italian Kitchen'' in April 2013. This cookbook was on the New York Times Best Seller List in May 2013. ''Fabio's American Home Kitchen'' was published in October 2014. Viviani has released several

e-books An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...

, including ''Did I Really Make Breakfast'' (Vol I & II), ''The Skinny Country'', ''We The Soup'' and ''I Would Love To Meat You''.

Controversy

On June 1, 2020, an employee of one of Viviani's establishments in Tampa, Lanfranco Pescante of the Nocturnal Hospitality Group, was exposed for posting "shoot them all" in response to Tampa protesters. Viviani's employee, Lanfranco Pescante has also been associated with other messages featuring racial slurs and suggesting racial discrimination of his patrons. He is now being investigated by the FBI and State Attorney for violent comments and is accused of sex trafficking and rape by several Tampa Bay women. Some of the victims were minors, and others have stated that some of the sexual misconduct occurred in establishments operated by the Nocturnal Hospitality Group. Fabio Viviani Group was never associated with the venue cited in the LawSuit, Franklin Manor. In response to these developments and public backlash, Viviani immediately announced on June 4, 2020, that he was cutting ties with the Nocturnal Hospitality Group and its Tampa Bay restaurants -Osteria Bar + Kitchen, and Mole y Abuela and Shibui. Viviani stated: "My whole Hospitality Group, Career and Venues have been built in the spirit of inclusiveness, equality, love and freedom for all, I cannot stand behind any form of hate or harassment nor being associated with people demonstrating such behaviours and for these reasons we have decided to cut ties with all our Tampa Partners and Operators".

Restaurants

* Taverna Toscana –

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the Sarasota metropolitan area. Dow ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

* Osteria – permanently closed –

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

* Osteria by Fabio Viviani –

Downers Grove, Illinois Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the village was ...

* Cafe Firenze – permanently closed

Moorpark, California Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. In 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County. Th ...

* Firenze Osteria – permanently closed

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Siena Tavern –

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

* Bar Siena –

* Portico –

Waterloo, New York Waterloo is a town in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 7,378 at the 2020 census. The town and its major community are named after Waterloo, Belgium, where Napoleon was defeated. There is also a village called Wate ...

*Osteria OKC –

Nichols Hills, Oklahoma Nichols Hills is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 3,870 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 4.3% increase from 2010 ...

* Chuck Lager –

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

* The Eatery –

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington, also known as Little Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia, is a city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

*Jars - Sweets and Things by Fabio Viviani *Taverna Costale, St Petersburg, Fl, opened January 2022 *Bar Cicchetti –

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

*Curfew - Memphis, Tennessee *Lago - Lake Zurich, Illinois * *Chuck Lager - Orland Park, Illinois *9 Prime - West Chester, Pennsylvania

References

Fabio Viviani Bravo TV biography

ShopTalk Crush of the Week: Fabio VivianiChef Fabio Viviani
;Footnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Viviani, Fabio Living people 1978 births Italian chefs Restaurateurs Italian cookbook writers