Gabriele Corcos facts for kids

Gabriele Corcos, born on October 7, 1972, is a famous Italian chef, businessman, and TV star. He is well-known for creating and hosting the TV show Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel. He also wrote a best-selling cookbook, also called Extra Virgin. Gabriele used to own a restaurant called The Tuscan Gun Officine Alimentari in Brooklyn, New York, but it is now closed.

He also starred with his wife, Debi Mazar, in a TV show called Extra Virgin Americana. This show had eight episodes in 2016. Gabriele Corcos cares about helping others and has worked with several charities that fight hunger.

Early Life and Family

Gabriele Corcos was born in Fiesole, Italy. His family had a Sephardic Jewish background, and he grew up Jewish in Tuscany. After finishing high school, he joined the Italian Army. He studied medicine at the military academy for a few years.

However, Gabriele loved music more than medicine. He decided to follow his passion for music instead of finishing his medical degree. He traveled to places like Brazil, Cuba, and Morocco to learn to play drums and perform with local musicians.

Becoming a TV Star

In 2001, Gabriele met his wife, Debi Mazar, in Florence, Italy. He then moved from Fiesole to Los Angeles to be with her. They got married on March 16, 2002. While his wife was busy filming during the day, Gabriele spent his time writing. He wrote about how much he liked American food.

One day, Gabriele and Debi filmed themselves cooking spaghetti sauce in their kitchen. They shared this video on YouTube, which was a new website back then. In 2006, they started a blog and web series called "Under the Tuscan Gun." People loved their cooking videos and sent them many emails.

For five years, they built a big community of fans through their web series. They didn't plan to go on TV. But in 2010, when the Cooking Channel was created, Gabriele and Debi were asked to host its first original cooking show. The Boston Globe newspaper even called them the Cooking Channel's "first family." On June 4, 2019, the Italian President honored Gabriele Corcos as a Knight. This is a very high award for an Italian citizen, given for his work helping Italian culture in the U.S.

Cooking Journey

Gabriele Corcos started cooking when he was very young. He often says that his favorite memories are cooking with his grandmother and mother when he was a small child. From them, he learned about traditional Tuscan food and how farmers cooked.

When he lived in Los Angeles, Gabriele worked in the kitchens of famous chefs for several years. In 2012, he became the main chef at the well-known Montauk Yacht Club. Since 2011, Gabriele has been a celebrity chef at the Food Network New York City and Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festivals. In February 2015, he hosted a special Italian food event at the festival.

Helping Others

Gabriele Corcos is also known for his charity work. In April 2013, he appeared on the Food Network show Chopped. He competed to raise money for a charity called Feeding America.

In May 2013, Gabriele and his family took part in the Live Below the Line Challenge. For five days, each family member had only $1.50 per day to spend on food. This amount is similar to the poverty line in America. Also, in 2014, Gabriele became a council member for the Food Bank For New York City. He hosted special dinners in October 2014, and a large part of the money raised went to the Food Bank.

Extra Virgin TV Show

The first season of Extra Virgin started in 2011. By 2015, there were five seasons of the show. Extra Virgin is shown in the United States on the Cooking Channel. It is also shown in other countries on the Food Network International channels.

Extra Virgin Cookbook

The Extra Virgin cookbook, titled Extra Virgin: Recipes & Love from Our Tuscan Kitchen, came out on May 6, 2014. It quickly became the number one Italian cooking book on Amazon and stayed there for six months. In June 2014, the cookbook made it onto the New York Times Best-Seller list. The book includes both real Tuscan recipes and dishes inspired by Tuscan cooking.