His background, his training and his talent all provide Al Tiramisu patrons a consistently exciting cuisine, allying classical Italian fare with creative techniques. His trademark outfit is a red bandanna around his neck, and bowtie pasta buttons on his jacket. Today, Chef Luigi keeps his inspiration by traveling and training, attending classes at the Istituto Etoile, in Tuscany, the Ritz Escoffier in Paris or recently training in some kitchens, such as Enoteca les Logge in Siena or Ristorante Il Silene with Chef Roberto Rossi, near Grosseto, or even perfecting family recipes from his three sisters Maria, Lina and Giuseppina in Lagonegro.
Chef Luigi is also a certified Sommelier from the Association of Italian Sommeliers. In fact, he is the first certified professional sommelier from the AIS in Washington, DC. Chef Luigi is always in search of a birthday to celebrate or a song to sing along or an occasion to ring the bell: you will come to Al Tiramisu as a customer and leave as a friend.
Jimena Turner - Brand Ambassador of Alamos Winery in Mendoza
Jimena Turner, director of wine education for Wines of Catena in Mendoza, Argentina, embodies the sophistication and international character of Argentina’s highly developed culture of food and wine.Born of a Welsh father and Argentine mother, Turner started her professional education in North Wales as an honor roll graduate in hotel and restaurant management from College Menai. She went directly into the top of the trade, working at the Royal Celtic Hotel in North Wales, then for the Mathis properties in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Her experience with international cuisines spurred her passion in wine, and Turner returned to her native Argentina to focus her energies on the life of wine in Mendoza. She has continued her education in the detailed practices of viticulture and winemaking, working side by side with the vineyard managers and winemakers of Alamos.
Since joining the Catena family enterprise in 2006, Turner has developed innovative wine education and hospitality programs, and she travels the world to present these wines at private dinners and public events.
Master Chef, Charlie Palmer - Rustic Dishes from New Cookbook
From sun up to sundown, meals prepared on a campfire are meant to be simple, but they can still aspire to be more than the typical fare that often goes hand-in-hand with outdoor cooking. The meals that come out of these experiences are memorable. While the setting helps, being away from the fridge and oven, or even the backyard grill, seems to spur cooks to greater achievements and ever-more-clever ways of enjoying the experience of cooking and eating outdoors.
Charlie Palmer is a respected and admired chef, hospitality entrepreneur, author and hotelier. Over the years, Palmer combined his creative cooking spirit and flair for business to open twelve notable restaurants across the country, award-winning boutique hotels and a growing collection of food-forward wine shops. He’s also the author of four cookbooks, Great American Food (Random House/1996), Charlie Palmer's Casual Cooking (Harper Collins/2001), The Art of Aureole, (Ten Speed Press/2002), and Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen (Melcher Media/2006). His fifth book, a collaborative project, Remington Camp Cooking by Charlie Palmer (Welcome Books/2013) is to be released in early summer 2013. He is a 20-year board member of City Meals on Wheels and longtime supporter of Share our Strength as well as a member of James Beard "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America,” and was named Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Culinary Institute of America in 2012.