Born in the Piedmont Region of Italy, Roberto Donna's fervent
mission is the promotion of authentic Italian cuisine. As a James
Beard Award winning Chef and Restaurateur in Washington, DC, Roberto
is committed to introducing others to the real flavors of Italy,
which he provides in his seven restaurants.
Roberto arrived in DC at the age of 19 after having expanded his
culinary horizons by working in kitchens across England, France
and Switzerland. Four years later, in 1984, he opened Galileo
and gained a strong following. With restaurants ranging in style
from the formal Galileo to the "all you can eat" Il
Radicchio, Roberto has taken into consideration the full range
of consumers' culinary taste buds.
Roberto Donna's efforts have been widley applauded. Wine Spectator
has called Galileo one of the "10 Best Italian Restaurants
in America", and the magazine presented Mr. Donna with the
Grand Award of Excellence for his wine cellar since 1997. In 1996,
Galileo was named one of the twenty finest Italian restaurants
in the world by the President of Italy, and Roberto published
his first cookbook "Cooking in Piedmont with Roberto Donna."
Additional recognition includes the 1996 James Beard Award for
Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic, the induction of Galileo into Nation's
Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame, and the DiRoNa (Distinguished
Restaurants of North America) Award from 1990 to the present.
Nationally, Roberto Donna is Chairman of the Gruppo Ristoratori
Italini, an national organization with the goal of emphasizing
authentic Italian food culture in the United States. Locally,
he is on the boards of the DC Central Kitchen and American Institute
of Wine & Food. As an active member of Share Our Strength
and The James Beard Foundation, he participates in numerous charity
events across the country.
Roberto Donna's civic-minded activities and the food he offers
are his way of saying "thank you" to those that have
helped him succeed.
