Michael White is the acclaimed chef of Convivio and Alto. Although his soulful, flavorful interpretations of Italian cuisine indicate otherwise, he is not an Italian native who absorbed generations of recipes at birth. He is, in fact, a Midwesterner who grew up in Beloit, Wisconsin.

After graduating Kendall Culinary Institute in 1989 White began working for Chef Paul Bartolotta at Chicago’s most renowned Italian restaurant, Spiaggia. After a year and a half, White moved to Italy to work with venerated Italian chef Valentino Marcattilii at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola that he began his Italian transformation. White in Italy for seven years adapting the ingredient-driven, Old world cooking style of Italians as his own.

White returned to the US in 2001 and returned to Spiaggia as Chef de Cuisine where he contributed to the restaurant’s four-star review from The Chicago Tribune. In 2002, he took New York by storm as Executive Chef of Fiamma Osteria in Soho. The restaurant garnered a glowing three star review from The New York Times and White was named Esquire’s Best New Chef, 2002. White also brought his famous recipes to home cooks with his book, Fiamma: The Essence of Contemporary Italian Cooking (John While & Sons, 2006).

In 2007, White partnered with accomplished restaurateur Chris Cannon and took the helm of L’Impero and Alto. With White’s Northern Italian menu and the partners’ shared love for Italian dining and hospitality, Alto quickly garnered a three-star review from The New York Times as well as a Michelin star in the 2009 Michelin Guide New York City. In July 2008, White and Cannon recreated L’Impero into Convivio, a restaurant that exudes the soul and spirit of Southern Italy. Convivio has received much acclaim including a three star review from The New York Times.