Nicholas Stefanelli is an American chef and restaurateur in

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, known for his Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Masseria. __NOTOC__

Early life

Born in Maryland, Stefanelli is of Greek and Italian descent, with family from the

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region of southern Italy. He was an aspiring baseball player at DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C., until he broke his foot. After high school, he went to Italy to pursue a career in fashion in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, but he became interested in the food he encountered in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...

, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. After realizing his passion for cooking, he enrolled in L’Academie de Cuisine in

Gaithersburg Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Ga ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and joined the kitchen of Roberto Donna at Italian restaurant Galileo in

He then went to work for Fabio Trabocchi at Maestro in

Tysons Corner, Virginia Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between the c ...

, following Trabocchi to Fiamma in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After Fiamma closed in 2009, Stefanelli worked a stage at

The French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

in California. In 2009, Stefanelli was recruited by restaurateur

Ashok Bajaj Ashok Bajaj is a restaurateur based in Washington, DC. He is head of the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group. Biography Bajaj was born in New Delhi. He left India in his early twenties, working in Sydney and in London, where he managed the Bombay Bras ...

to return to D.C. to develop a menu and lead the kitchen at a new Italian restaurant, Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca. Bibiana received many positive reviews upon opening, and it was recognized as one of the best new restaurants in America by ''Esquire'' magazine. Stefanelli won the title of "Rising Culinary Star" at the 2010 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (Rammy) Awards.

Masseria and Officina

In 2014, Stefanelli left Bibiana to open his own restaurant, called Masseria. Named for the agricultural estates in Italy's

region, Masseria opened in August 2015 and was Union Market's first standalone restaurant. In October 2016, Masseria earned a

Michelin Star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

within the city's first-ever guide. In 2018, Masseria won the Rammy Award for Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year. In October 2018, Stefanelli opened Officina, a three-floor Italian trattoria, café, and market located in The Wharf, a new development on Washington's

Southwest Waterfront The Southwest Waterfront is a mostly residential neighborhood in Southwest Washington, D.C. The Southwest quadrant is the smallest of Washington's four quadrants, and the Southwest Waterfront is one of only two residential neighborhoods in the qu ...

. In November 2018, Stefanelli announced plans to open a Greek restaurant in downtown Washington, DC.

Awards

* 2010 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY), Rising Culinary Star. * 2017 Michelin Star (Masseria), the ''

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

''. * 2018 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMMY), Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year (Masseria).

References

External links

Star Chefs

Masseria Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefanelli, Nicholas Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chefs from Washington, D.C. Chefs of Italian cuisine American chefs American people of Italian descent American people of Greek descent American male chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants