Michael Chiarello

When he began his own restaurants, ingredients were the key to distinguishing his style of cooking from others, so he made everything himself at the restaurant.

He farms the vineyards himself with his vineyard manager.

He would always turn to local purveyors, often collaborating on the produce he would grow.

His family made their own cheese, cured meats, preserved produce and made wine.

He was raised in a family of food purveyors.

He farms organically and sustainably.

He began his apprentice in restaurants at the age 14.

He has opened six restaurants, Tra Vigne, Tomatina, Bistecca, Caffe Museo in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Bump's and Ajax Tavern in Aspen.

He arrived in Napa Valley in 1986.

He opened his first NapaStyle store in Berkeley, CA.

He worked at Tra Vignehis for 20 years as the Executive Chef.

His family's lifestyle grew directly out of their land and what it produced. They ate what they could as it ripened, and preserved the rest.

He is known for the Napa Valley icon and the Tra Vigne Restaurant.

He was named Chef of the Year by Food and Wine Magazine in 1985.

He is the chef of Tra Vigne in Napa Valley.

His father made the wine and his mother made the vinegar and baked bread in an outdoor oven.

He was born and raised in California's Central Valley.

He is the creator of NapaStyle specialty foods and handcrafted products for kitchen, home and garden.

He is Italian.

He graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, in 1982.

Michael earned Chef of the Year by Food & Wine magazinein 1985 and the Culinary Institute of America in 1995.

He wrote the following cookbooks: Michael Chiarello's Flavored Oils and Vinegars, At Home with Michael Chiarello: Easy Entertaining, Recipes, Ideas, Inspiration, Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking: Wine Country Recipes for Family and Friends, Napa Stories: Profiles, Reflections, and Recipes from the Napa Valley, The Tra Vigne Cookbook: Seasons in the California Wine Country, Flavored Vinegars: 50 Recipes for Cooking with Infused Vinegars, 10-Pak Flavored Vinegars, Flavored Oils: 50 Recipes for Cooking with Infused Oils, 10-Pak Flavored Oils

Michael has an interesting way of squeezing the juice from a lemon. He first squeezes the half with his hand, and then he puts the lemon in his mouth and uses his teeth!