the host

James Beard Award–Winning Cookbook Author & Chef

Ron Suhanosky

From a very early age I knew I wanted to be a chef. Growing up in an Italian-Hungarian family, I was the taste tester for my great grandmother's weekly Sunday meals — and those early memories of food, family, and the table never left me.

I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1992 at the age of 21 and began honing my craft at New York City's River Café and Park Avenue Café under chef David Burke. After three years in New York, I moved to Boston to cook at Biba under chef Lydia Shire, before making the leap that would change everything — moving to Italy to work at the world-renowned Il Cibreo in Florence with chef Fabio Picci.

Back in the States, I led kitchens at Boston's Galleria Italiana and Il Buco in New York, before opening my first restaurant, Sfoglia, on Nantucket — followed by a second location in Manhattan. In September 2009 I released my first cookbook, Pasta Sfoglia (John Wiley and Sons), which won a 2010 James Beard Award in the Single Subject Category and appeared on Best Cookbook lists in The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Food Arts, the LA Times, and more. My second cookbook, The Italian Table, followed in October 2011 (Kyle Books).

Alongside my restaurants, I have spent years as a private chef for high-profile households around the world. Today, I am based in Todi, Umbria — and I invite you to come cook, eat, and live here with me.