Christian Petroni

Born and raised in the Bronx, Christian Petroni has made a name for himself as one of the best-known chefs in Italian and Italian-American cuisine. Growing up, Christian spent every summer in Ponza, a small island off the coast ofNaples, where he got to experience the authentic food and old-world culinary practices of his grandparents and ancestors. At 13, he lied about his age to his first employer so he could work at their monster Italian wedding catering factory. The groundwork was set—he was hooked on the action.

After receiving acclaim for his cooking in restaurants throughout New York City, Christian struck out on his own at age 28 with his first restaurant, Fortina, in the suburbs not far from where he grew up, serving wood-fired pizza and other straightforward but great Italian food in a fun atmosphere. The Westchester food scene had never seen anything like it before. The restaurant soon went from one location to five.

During this time, Christian started appearing more and more on The Food Network, first as the joint-winner of Food Network Star and on many other programs since then. His popularity has continued to grow with his drool-inducing reels on Instagram. Most recently, he’s started selling his garlic bread at Yankee Stadium—a true homecoming for a kid from the Bronx, and the pinnacle of his career thus far. Christian lives in New York with his wife and two children.