Massimo Covello was born in Acri, a beautiful town of rolling hills in the southern Calabria region of Italy. Massimo’s great passions are art, family, and of course his love for cooking. He started off his culinary career working at the side of Chef Ugo De Martin at Hotel Cortina located in Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy. During his time at Hotel Cortina, Massimo mastered his pastry technique along with the art of cooking. Under Chef De Martin, Massimo also had the opportunity to work in Florence at the famous Grand Hotel Baglioni where he learned the bases of the Tuscan cuisine. During his time as a chef, Massimo also took interest in marketing and eventually lead the marketing department for the weekly Italian magazine, Avvenimenti. In 2000, Massimo finally decided to focus more on his passion for cooking and began his American adventure. His adventure started with Gary Rulli in Larkspur, where Massimo returned back to his pastry roots and worked with Chef Rulli to develop what is known today as Emporio Rulli. During this time, Massimo met his wife Celine and accomplished the most significant project of his life, his daughter Gabriella. After four years of pastry chef art, Massimo decided to take his career to the next level and became sous-chef for Chef Duilio Valenti at Il Frantoio. In June of 2009, Massimo decided to bring all of his culinary achievements to the kitchen of Piazza D’Angelo where he strives to cook organic, seasonal dishes that resemble the core of Italian cooking. Although Massimo is far from his home in Calabria, he still brings his love for simple ingredients and Mediterranean-style cooking into the dishes at Piazza D’Angelo. “I have great respect for the ingredients. I try to focus on local, fresh produce and let them shine on their own.”In Italy, in preparation for a meal, Italians typical go to the farmers market nearest them to buy all the produce needed for that day. They will also buy their cheese from the local cheese shop, the salami from their local salumeria, and meat from their local butcher. Massimo envisions bringing this Italian tradition into the kitchen at Piazza D’Angelo. He aims to provide the best local, sustainable, and organic products in his dishes and keep the Italian culture alive here at Piazza D’Angelo.