Kalok Lai

Fabio Trabocchi is an internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur based in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and owner of the renowned restaurant group Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, home to multiple award-winning restaurants. Trabocchi grew up in Le Marche, a remote part of Italy that lies on the Adriatic Coast, over the Apennine Mountains from Rome. Trabocchi’s love for food was inspired by his father, a passionate farmer and gardener who grew most of the food his family ate. Trabocchi pursued his formal culinary education at the Istituto Alberghiero Panzine in Senigallia, Italy and soon afterwards earned an apprenticeship in Milan with 3-star Michelin Chef Gualtiero Marchesi, considered to be the founder of modern Italian cuisine. Trabocchi then worked in numerous restaurants around the world including London, multiple cities in Spain, Moscow, Washington, D.C., and New York. In 2001, the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner, Virginia recruited Trabocchi to open a new restaurant called Maestro in their luxury hotel just outside of Washington, D.C. During this time, the James Beard Foundation awarded him Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, and Food & Wine Magazine recognized him as one of America’s Best New Chefs. In 2007, Fiamma recruited Trabocchi to New York City to head the kitchen, where he earned three stars from the New York Times and one Michelin Star. In 2011, Trabocchi returned to Washington to open his flagship restaurant Fiola in downtown D.C., which soon earned its place among the city’s best restaurants and received a Michelin star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Washington, D.C.