Michael Chiarello facts for kids
Chiarello in 2015
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| Born | January 26, 1962 Red Bluff, California, U.S. |
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| Died | October 6, 2023 (aged 61) Napa, California, U.S. |
| Cooking style | Californian, Italian |
| Education | Florida International University (1984), Culinary Institute of America |
| Spouse | Eileen Chiarello (m. 2003) |
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Current restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
Easy Entertaining
NapaStyle |
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| Official website | |
| http://michaelchiarello.com/ | |
Michael Chiarello (January 26, 1962 – October 6, 2023) was a famous American chef. He was known for his Italian-inspired California cooking style. Michael hosted popular cooking shows like Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello on Food Network. He also had a show called NapaStyle on the Fine Living Network.
Chiarello owned a winery called Chiarello Family Vineyards. It is located in Yountville, CA. He also owned restaurants, including Coqueta, which served Spanish tapas, and Bottega, an Italian restaurant. These restaurants were in Napa Valley and San Francisco, California. Michael Chiarello also had a store called NapaStyle, which sold kitchen and home items. He was a contestant on the TV show The Next Iron Chef.
Becoming a Chef
Michael Chiarello was born into an Italian-American family. He became well-known at a young age. After finishing school at the Culinary Institute of America in 1982, he studied how to manage hotels and restaurants at Florida International University. He earned his degree in 1984.
In 1985, he opened two restaurants in Florida. That same year, Food & Wine Magazine named him their Chef of the Year.
Later in the 1980s, Chiarello moved back to California. He settled in the beautiful Napa Valley. One of his first big projects was opening the Tra Vigne restaurant. He created a menu that used fresh, local ingredients. It was inspired by the cooking style of his family's home region in Italy, Calabria. He later worked as an executive chef in many other American restaurants. These included Caffe Museo in San Francisco and Ajax Tavern in Aspen, Colorado.
TV Shows and Appearances
Michael Chiarello's first cooking show was Season by Season. It started on PBS in 2001. Over the next two years, he hosted two more shows for PBS. These were Michael Chiarello's Napa and Michael Chiarello's Napa: Casual Cooking.
In 2003, he moved to the Food Network to host Easy Entertaining. His show NapaStyle began in 2004 on the Fine Living Network. In 2009, Chiarello competed on Top Chef Masters. He won his first round and made it to the final championship. He finished in second place.
You can still watch reruns of Easy Entertaining on the Cooking Channel. In 2011, Chiarello also appeared in a film to help promote tourism to California.
His Cookbooks
Michael Chiarello wrote several cookbooks. They shared his recipes and cooking tips.
- Michael Chiarello's Live Fire: 125 Recipes for Cooking Outdoors (2013)
- Michael Chiarello's Bottega (2010)
- 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; updated in 2006)
Images for kids
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Chiarello in 2015
