Michael Chiarello is an award-winning chef and owner of critically acclaimed Bottega restaurant in the Napa Valley and Coqueta in San Francisco, a 2014 semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best New Restaurant” award. Named Esquire magazine’s “Chef of the Year” for 2013, Chiarello made his mark by combining his Southern Italian roots with the distinctive hallmarks of Napa Valley living. From his earliest childhood experiences – created around his mother’s California kitchen with his extended Italian family of butchers, cheesemakers and ranchers – Michael Chiarello dreamed of becoming a chef one day.