Donatella Arpaia
Quick Facts
Biography
Donatella Arpaia Stewart (born in Woodmere, New York on September 15, 1971) is an American restaurateur and a television personality who appears on The Food Network. Arpaia is a regular judge on The Food Network's Iron Chef America and The Next Iron Chef. She has also appeared on The Isaac Mizrahi Show, The Martha Stewart Show, The Tony Danza Show, The Today Show and iVillage.
Career
Following a brief career as a corporate attorney, Arpaia opened her first restaurant, Bellini in 1998. Her other restaurants include davidburke & donatella, which has received four stars from Forbes and the Five Diamond Award, Anthos, a Michelin Star Greek restaurant which was named Best New Restaurant by New York and Esquire in November 2007, and nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant., and Mia Dona, opened in February 2008.
Zagat named Arpaia, "The Hostess with the Mostest," in March 2006 and Crain's named her one of its "40 under 40", and the New York Post named Arpaia 31st of "The 50 Most Powerful Women in NYC".
In 2007, Arpaia and chef Michael Psilakis opened restaurant Kefi in the Upper West Side of New York City. Its meatballs were named as the best in the city in New York's 2007 "Best of New York" issue.
In mid-2009, Arpaia and Psilakis opened Eos in Miami’s Viceroy Hotel, her first restaurant opened outside of New York.
Education
Arpaia graduated from Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, Long Island in 1989. Arpaia received her bachelor's degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut and her juris doctor from the St. John's University School of Law in Queens, New York. She studied at the French Culinary Institute and the Italian Culinary Academy.
Personal life
In May, 2011, Arpaia married cardiac surgeon Allan Stewart. On September 15, 2011, her 40th birthday, Arpaia gave birth to a baby boy, Alessandro, her first child.