Damiano Carrara (born 22 September 1985) is an Italian chef, restaurateur and cookbook author who resides in Italy.

Early life

Carrara was born in

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

, Tuscany. He served as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

at age 19 in his hometown before he continued bartending across

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. By 2012, he and his brother Massimiliano had relocated to

Moorpark, California Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. As of 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County. ...

, where they opened their bakery Carrara Pastries. In 2013, they opened a second location in

Agoura Hills, California Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the ...

. In 2023 the Carrara Pastry companies were sold to a new owner.

Career

Carrara has made television appearances on several

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

series. He first came to prominence as a contestant in the premier season of ''

Spring Baking Championship ''Spring Baking Championship'' is an American cooking competition television series that airs on Food Network. It was originally presented by chef Bobby Deen; with fellow Food Network chefs Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale serving a ...

'' in 2015, where he finished in second place. Later that year, he went on to win the "Chocotage XXL" episode of '' Cutthroat Kitchen''. Carrara also infrequently served as a judge on '' Bakers vs. Fakers'' and ''Winner Cake All''. Carrara also served as a judge in the ''Christmas Cookie Challenge'', which aired on Food Network in 2017.

''Food Network Star'' and ''Halloween Baking Championship''

In May 2016, Carrara was announced as a contestant for the twelfth season of ''

Food Network Star ''Food Network Star'' is a reality television series that premiered June 5, 2005. It was produced by CBS EYEtoo Productions for seasons 1–8 and by Triage Entertainment for subsequent seasons. It airs on the Food Network in the United States. ...

''. He survived until midway through the season finale, finishing in third place. In October 2016, he served as one of the judges in the second season of ''

Halloween Baking Championship ''Halloween Baking Championship'' is an American cooking competition show that premiered on Food Network on October 5, 2015. Like its sister show, Holiday Baking Championship, it's a seasonal program that runs for a few weeks (in this case, the ...

''.

Filmography

Television

- SECOND PLACE (6 episodes, 2015) * Cuthroat Kitchen: Chocotage XXL - WINNER (2015) *

Season 12 - THIRD PLACE (2016) *

Season 2 - JUDGE (2016) * Christmas Cookie Challenge 2 - JUDGE (2016) *

Guy's Grocery Games '' Guy's Grocery Games '' (often nicknamed ''Triple G'') is an American reality-based cooking television game show hosted by Guy Fieri on Food Network. Each episode features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination contest, cooking food ...

- JUDGE (1 episode, 2017) * Bakers vs. Fakers - JUDGE (2 episodes, 2017) * Christmas Cookie Challenge - JUDGE (3 episodes, 2017) * Cake Star: Pasticcerie in sfida Season 1-6 - HOST (2018-2022) with

Katia Follesa Katia Follesa (born 12 January 1976 in Giussano) and Valeria Graci (born 22 August 1980 in Milan) are an Italian former comedy duo who worked on stage, films and television as Katia & Valeria. The couple formed in 2001 in a drama school, the Labo ...

* Home & Family - SELF (4 episodes, 2017-2018) * Bake Off Italia: Dolci in forno - JUDGE (43 episodes, 2017-2020) * Chopped Sweets - JUDGE (1 episode, 2021)

Bibliography

References

External links

* 1985 births Food Network chefs Food Network Star contestants Italian cookbook writers Italian emigrants to the United States Italian television chefs Living people Pastry chefs Businesspeople from Lucca {{chef-stub