CHEFSGina DePalmaBabbo Ristorante and Enoteca Born in New York and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Gina DePalma credits her close-knit Italian family for instilling a love and understanding of good food, simply prepared from the best of ingredients. Her training began at home in the kitchens of her mother and grandmother, and continued with her graduation from the professional culinary program at the former Peter Kump's New York Cooking School (now the Institute of Culinary Education) in 1994. A career in pastry was not her original intention, but after completing an apprenticeship in the pastry kitchen of Chanterelle, she soon found her calling. She went on to work for more than two years in the pastry department of Gramercy Tavern, and then became the Pastry Chef of The Cub Room in Soho before being hired by Chef Mario Batali to open Babbo Ristorante and Enoteca in 1998. In the Babbo kitchen, her creativity shines forth through the marriage of seasonal, regional ingredients with traditional Italian desserts. Chef DePalma travels frequently to Italy to reconnect with friends and family, and renew her love of Italian culture and cuisine. Ms. DePalma has appeared on the Food Network and her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Daily News, New York Magazine, Gourmet, Chocolatier, Pastry Art and Design, and Food & Wine. She has contributed to The Babbo Cookbook by Mario Batali (2002, Clarkson Potter Publishers). Her first cookbook, Dolce Italiano; Desserts from The Babbo Kitchen, was published by W.W. Norton & Co. in 2007. Chef DePalma has received five consecutive nominations from the James Beard Foundation as Outstanding Pastry Chef (2002-2006), and in 2005 she was named one of the Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Art & Design Magazine. She lives in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York and in Rome, Italy. |