I was born in Brooklyn, New York, with my family roots stemming from Italy and Argentina.

I’ve been on an amazing culinary journey these last 12 years since 1995 when I began as a dishwasher. It was a tough job, but along the way, I fell in love with cooking and the kitchen by watching the cooks execute each dish. In this journey, I’ve prepared gourmet dishes in some of NYC’s finest restaurants, roasted pigs in backyards and at stadium tailgates for thousands, cooked classic Greek menus and American pub food, and tossed buffalo wings by the boatload. Every step affirmed what I’ve known from the beginning, that it’s the only thing I want to do. Nothing else interests me. Making people happy and being part of their special moments is one of the highlights of this career. It’s like nothing else you do.

But deep down, despite all I’ve done, I always knew I needed to return to my first love, to my roots: Italian food. So, in 2019, with no more than an idea in a notebook, I got to work.

Today, Brooklyn Roots is a living, breathing thing. I am finally home and so proud to cook dishes that are familiar but always a little different than the standard. We are old school in a modern world which is one of the reasons why everyone in my kitchen has two days off and is compensated for all their hard work. A work balance needs to be created in this industry. We lose too many great cooks/chefs to burnout, but if we all stick together, work hard as a team, and care for each other, we will achieve outstanding results.