Antonia Lofaso

Last updated
Antonia Lofaso
Born1976 (age 46–47) Long Island, New York, U.S.
Education International Culinary Center
Culinary career
Current restaurant(s)
    • Black Market Liquor Bar, Los Angeles (2011–present),
      * Scopa Italian Roots, Los Angeles (2013–present),
      * DAMA, Los Angeles (2018–present)
Television show(s)

Antonia Marie Lofaso (born 1976) [1] is an American celebrity chef and restaurateur. She has appeared on the reality television shows Top Chef , Chopped , Cutthroat Kitchen and Restaurant Startup , among others. Lofaso owns the restaurants Black Market Liquor Bar, Scopa Italian Roots, and DAMA in Los Angeles, California. [2]

Contents

Restaurant career

Lofaso attended the French Culinary Institute (now known as the International Culinary Center) in New York City; during that time, she was also a manager at Sean Combs' restaurant, Justin. [2] She then worked as a chef at the Los Angeles restaurants Spago and Foxtail. [2]

Lofaso is currently a co-owner and the executive chef of the Los Angeles restaurants Black Market Liquor Bar, DAMA, and Scopa Italian Roots. [3]

Restaurants

Television career

In 2008, Lofaso appeared as a contestant on season four of the competition series Top Chef , also known as Top Chef: Chicago ; she came in fourth place. [8] She appeared on season eight of Top Chef, known as Top Chef: All-Stars , from 2010 to 2011, coming in third place. In 2014 she appeared on an episode of Top Chef Duels , competing against Mike Isabella, who had beaten her on Top Chef: All-Stars ; she won the "duel."

In 2012, Lofaso appeared on the short-lived Game Show Network show Beat the Chefs ; she was one of three professional chefs that the amateur chef contestants had to compete against. The show ran for four episodes.

She was one of a rotating group of judges on the 2013 to 2017 Food Network competition show Cutthroat Kitchen . She also competed in (and won) Cutthroat's special 2016 "Judging Judges" episode, beating fellow regular judges Simon Majumdar and Jet Tila as well as Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian. She is a judge on Guy's Grocery Games , which premiered in 2013. She has also competed (and won) frequently on that show, beginning a long-standing association with Guy Fieri who calls her the "Warrior Princess" []

Lofaso served as one of the restaurant culinary consultants for the CNBC television show Restaurant Startup (seasons 2 and 3), [9] in 2015 and 2016. In 2020, she appeared on Selena Gomez's cooking show, Selena + Chef . She also made an appearance on the 16th season of The Bachelorette during the hometown episode.

Lofaso was one of four chefs featured in the Fieri-produced documentary film Restaurant Hustle 2020: All On The Line , focusing on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their lives and businesses. She returned for the film’s sequel documentary, Restaurant Hustle 2021: Back In Business.

In January 2022, Lofaso appeared as the lead judge on Guy’s Chance Of A Lifetime . She was the head judge on the Food Network competition show The Julia Child Challenge , which aired in March and April 2022. [10] In the summers of 2022 and 2023, she hosted Beachside Brawl , and from August through November 2022, she served as co-host of Guy's Ultimate Game Night .

Personal life

Lofaso was born in 1976 on Long Island, New York. When she was eight, Lofaso moved to Northridge, Los Angeles, California with her parents. [11] [1] Lofaso has Italian (Sicilian) and Jewish roots. [12]

Lofaso's daughter Xea Myers was born in 2000 from her relationship with the late Jamaican rapper Heavy D. [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 Comfi, Amy (2021-09-06). "Heavy D And Antonia Lofaso were in a long term Marriage Before Heavy D Tragic death in 2011!". Central Recorder. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  2. 1 2 3 Harris, Jenn (2015-03-13). "Antonia Lofaso: Scopa and Black Market chef, and 'Busy Mom'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  3. ↑ Abrams, Sandy (April 10, 2015). "Reality TV Can Be Secret Ingredient for Chef's Success". Huffington Post.
  4. ↑ Cahn, Lauren (2021-09-13). "The Untold Truth Of Antonia Lofaso's Black Market Liquor Bar". Mashed.com. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  5. ↑ "Scopa Italian Roots - Venice - Los Angeles". The Infatuation. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  6. ↑ Kang, Matthew (2018-07-11). "Inside Dama, Downtown LA's vintage-inspired Latin restaurant and cocktail lounge". Eater LA. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  7. ↑ "Celebrity Chef Antonia Lofaso's Restaurants".
  8. ↑ "Interview with Top Chef Antonia Lofaso about heart health". Daily News. 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  9. ↑ Rodell, Besha (2015-02-17). "Top Chef Antonia Lofaso's 6 Favorite Los Angeles Restaurants". LA Weekly. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  10. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (2022-03-10). "How 'The Julia Child Challenge' Recreated the Food Icon and Her Kitchen". Variety. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  11. ↑ "Work/Life Balance: Antonia Lofaso". Los Angeles Business Journal. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  12. ↑ Vozza, Stephanie (November 21, 2013). "Dishing Up Family Traditions with Top Chef's Antonia Lofaso—and a Chance to Win a Trip to NYC". Parade. Retrieved April 25, 2016. 'My dad's Sicilian and my mom is half Italian and half Jewish,' says Bravo's Top Chef All Star.
  13. ↑ Lai, Angelica (March 9, 2015). "10 Questions With Chef Antonia Lofaso". Mom.me.
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