A passion for food led Scott Tacinelli away from a successful career as an advertising sales rep after eight years in the industry at CBS Radio. Being brought up in an Italian-American family with a mother and grandparents who were avid cooks, he had always had a deep love for food.
Scott found that pursuing a new path in the kitchen brought him the fulfillment he had hoped to find in a career. Tacinelli enrolled in the French Culinary Institute (now International Culinary Center)and was hired at the newly opened Park Avenue Summer.
Tacinelli was then named chef de cuisine of Quality Meats, a modern steakhouse that has been named one of America’s best new steakhouses by Details Magazine. His success running Quality Meats placed Tacinelli in the ideal position to become the executive chef of Quality Italian, which he opened with his wife Angie Rito.
The couple then developed and operated a 19-seat speakeasy restaurant project in the East Village together called dinnertable, where they gained acclaim for their creative menu and unique lasagna. The couple returned to Quality Branded in 2016 as partners in Quality Italian to help open the new location in Denver and assist in future expansion of the brand.
The couple collaborated on Don Angie, a West Village New Italian named among Esquire’s Restaurants of the Year in 2018. Among other accolades, Scott and Angie were named among 13 Under-the-Radar Chefs to Watch in NYC by Zagat, Star Chefs Game Changers, and are semi-finalist nominees for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef NYC award.
GET A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT SCOTT & DON ANGIE
Scott graduated from the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. ICC’s culinary education legacy lives on at ICE, where you can explore your own future in food.
