Fabio Viviani (chef)

Fabio Viviani (born October 10, 1978 in Florence, Italy) is an Italian chef, restaurateur, reality television personality, a New York Times best-selling author, and a naturalized U.S. citizen.^[1] Viviani's first appearance on television was as a contestant on the fifth season of reality TV show Top Chef on the Bravo network. After making it past the initial rounds, as one of the final four contestants when he was eliminated from the competition and was voted "Top Chef Fan Favorite" by viewers.^[2] Fabio returned to Bravo in 2010 to compete in their Top Chef: All Stars, as well as co-starring in the 2012 Bravo reality show Life After Top Chef. He was also the host of Chow Ciao, the award-winning series on Yahoo!.^[3][4][5]

Early life

Chef Fabio Viviani has possessed a passion for food since his childhood growing up in Florence, Italy. At age 11, Viviani 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 very busy Il Pallaio, a casual Trattoria in Florence, Italy with Italian comfort food and a 120-seat cover. Viviani thrived in this high pressure environment and managed to become sous chef by age 16 thanks to the mentoring of Simone Mugnaini, iconic figure in the Italian restaurant scene.^[6]

Career

Viviani owned and operated seven restaurants in Florence, a farm house and 2 nightclubs by the time he was 27.^[7] In late 2005, he moved to Ventura County, CA and opened Café Firenze in Moorpark and, soon after, popular LA Italian eatery Firenze Osteria in North Hollywood.^[8][9] Teaming up with Chicago’s Dine|Amic Group, Viviani opened a third restaurant called Siena Tavern in Chicago in February 2013.^[10] Siena Tavern has received accolades from Chicago Tribune, Thrillist, and others.^[11][12] Viviani is currently working on the highly anticipated opening of Siena Tavern Miami, FL.^[13] Viviani is also set to open his new steak restaurant Prime and Provisions as well craft cocktail and small plate concept both in Chicago in late 2014.^[14] He has also opened 2 locations of Mercato by Fabio Viviani in Chicago which feature from scratch kitchen, quick Italian options developed for the corporate lunch crowd. He plans on opening multiple in the coming years.^[15]

Viviani’s on screen appearances on both Top Chef and Life After Top Chef have propelled him to become a household name in the U.S. Viviani has also appeared in a number of television cooking segments and is a recurring guest on television shows such as Good Morning America, The Talk, The Chew, Ellen, Good Day LA, Access Hollywood, as well as hosting a regular spot on QVC channel featuring various kitchen appliances and products.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21]} Recently, Viviani has also been a reoccurring guest host on the new Hallmark Channel series Home and Family.^[22] He was also host of the award-winning web series Chow Ciao! on Yahoo!.^[23]

Viviani holds several endorsement and licensing contracts with Bertolli Olive Oil, Smart Step Home Kitchen Mats, Picnic Time Giftware and the number one Italian brand of ceramic non-stick cookware, Bialetti Cookware. Viviani and Bialetti collaborated on the launch of the Co-Branded Signature Series Aeternum Evolution, released in August 2013.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Viviani runs a website www.fabioviviani.com, which features a wide variety of original recipes, his Kitchen Academy blog, and any upcoming events. In 2014, Viviani launched a free bi-weekly E-Magazine titled Fabio's Magazine, which includes new and original recipes, wine blogs, lifestyle and health-related articles, as well as more upcoming news from the chef.^[28]

Writing

Viviani’s first cookbook Cafe Firenze Cookbook: Food and Drink Recipes from the Tuscan Sons was published on August 1, 2009.^[29]

Viviani’s second cookbook, Fabio's Italian Kitchen was published on April 23, 2013.^[30] Viviani describes it as delivering “fresh, delicious Italian dishes from [his] family to yours.”^[31] This cookbook was on the New York Times Best Seller List in May 2013.^[32]

Viviani’s third cookbook, Fabio’s American Home Kitchen, was published on October 21, 2014. ^[33]

In addition to his cookbooks and weekly blogs, Viviani has also released several #1 selling E-books including Did I Really Make Breakfast (Vol I & II), The Skinny Country, We The Soup and now I Would Love To Meat You.^[34]

Coming Soon

Viviani will soon be opening Siena Tavern Miami in Fall 2014, and will also open both a Chicago steakhouse and a Chicago Italian bar/restaurant in 2014.^[35]

Recently Fabio was announced as a competitor in the "Superstar Sabotage" tournament of Cutthroat Kitchen. ^[36] Fabio defeated the other three competitors, netting ten thousand dollars for his charity of choice, and is now eligible to move on to the next round of the celebrity tournament.

Key Segments

Restaurants

Moorpark, CA - Cafe Firenze (http://www.cafefirenze.net)

Hollywood, CA - Firenze Osteria (http://www.firenzeosteria.com)

Chicago, IL - Siena Tavern (http://sienatavern.com)

References

Footnotes