Gabe Bertaccini
Born in Florence, Italy, and inspired by his family’s love for food and his native land, Gabriele Bertaccini discovered his passion for cooking as a young boy. At the age of thirteen, Gabriele landed his first job at a local restaurant where he washed dishes and pans. Not too long after that, he bought a suitcase of knives and started cooking. He never stopped ever since.
Gabriele attended a five-year program at the prestigious Instituto Professionale Buontalenti per Servizi Alberghieri in Florence, Italy, where he graduated in regional, Italian cuisine and specialized in Tuscan cooking as well as additional culinary courses including Food and Beverage Management. He spent months practicing and learning at the best local restaurants Italy has to offer, often working for free. Surrounded by olive groves, cypress trees and the riches of the Arno valley, Gabriele’s cooking developed into what is now his philosophy: Pristine ingredients, simple execution, and great passion.
Gabriele worked for numerous restaurants throughout Italy, including internationally renowned and awarded Sabatini. He ran the food programs at important hospitality concepts such as Grand Hotel Baglioni and Hotel Astoria until he later found his residency at Coquinarius – a small boutique farm to table multi-course concept – where under his leadership received multiple awards by publications including GAMBERO ROSSO and CUCINA ITALIANA. After his departure he had the pleasure of being named Executive Chef for the Antinori family one of the oldest and most respected winemaking families in the World where he acquired vast amount of knowledge in Italian wine making and the symbiosis between food and wine. A few years later, Gabriele’s passion led him to Paris, France where he lived and worked as a Chef in order to sharpen his culinary skills under the leadership of Chef Delage.
Chef Bertaccini currently resides in Venice Beach, California where he is the founder of award-winning IL TOCCO FOOD, a culinary experience company focused on creating and providing some of the most exclusive, memorable and personalized culinary events all over the world. iL TOCCO FOOD was quickly named one of the “best dining event companies in the country” and expanded its success to other cities, such as London, San Francisco, Phoenix and back in Florence, Italy.
In 2016, Chef Gabe launched his latest culinary adventure by opening THE CHEF’S DEN, one of the most exclusive private kitchens and locations on the West Coast. Featuring a single Chef’s table and an ever-changing menu, this dining adventure is an old-school social network of talented, sophisticated and like-minded individuals coming together for an old-fashioned soiree in Chef Gabe’s kitchen, as well as other alluring locations across the globe. The event quickly became one of the top-selling and most sought after dining experiences and was rated one of the Top 5 Over-The-Top dining experiences.
Chef Gabe has been the first Arizona based chef without a physical restaurant to be selected to be a part of the James Beard Foundation Taste of America dinner, one of the finest and most important culinary organizations in the world. During his career, Chef Gabe and his staff have provided and continue to provide memorable dining experiences for many clients including the Clinton family, Oprah Winfrey, Micheal Phelps, The Walton family, Jeanie Buss and The Lakers, Brunello Cucinelli, and Cher. Chef Bertaccini has also served as Food Editor for multiple publications and currently writes as a freelancer for several other food magazines.
In the summer of 2020, Chef Gabe became one of the host and food expert for Netflix exclusive series “SAY I DO: SURPRISE WEDDINGS” (2020) where he surprises and celebrates engaged couples with one-of-a-lifetime dream weddings. He is currently in the process of opening his first Los Angeles based restaurant (2023) focused on Tuscan and open fire cooking.
He enjoys the outdoors as much as cooking especially when shared with his four Australian Shepards. He enjoys hiking, skiing, camping, sailing and has deep passion for traveling.
As Chef Gabe steps into the next stages of his career his goal has become to create spaces and opportunities all over the world for people to meaningfully connect with food the same way he has done all his life:
“I grew up in a place where social events and leisure time are mostly related to food. Food was and still is an essential aspect of festivities, conviviality, of Tuscan traditions. Especially within the context of family life, cooking and eating is one of the highest forms of cultural activity.”
In addition to his Culinary Degree and Master Gabriele holds a double undergraduate degree from Arizona State University in Business Supply Chain from W.P. Carey School of Business and in Public Relations and Journalism from Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Master in Media and Mass Communication.
