Paul Bartolotta

Did You Know?

• His Las Vegas restaurant BARTOLOTTA, Ristorante di Mare imported 1 to 1.5 tons of seafood per week, served within 19 to 48 hours of being caught in the Mediterranean.
• The restaurant employed a full-time marine biologist, Yasmin Tajik, to oversee its on-site tank facility.
• BARTOLOTTA, Ristorante di Mare was the only restaurant in the Western Hemisphere to serve fresh-caught langoustines, as explored in a January 2011 Departures magazine article.

Early life

Bartolotta was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on June 8, 1961, the third of four children of Beverly Mae (born Kopp) and Salvatore "T.J." Bartolotta. His father was of Italian descent and his mother of Austrian ancestry. He began working in restaurants at age 15 and later apprenticed under John Marangelli, whom he credits with helping to cultivate his sense of "taste." After graduating from Milwaukee Area Technical College, he traveled to New York City in 1980, where he met restaurateur Tony May, owner of the Rainbow Room and founder of the Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani. With May's support, Bartolotta traveled to Italy in the fall of 1980 for what became a seven-year education in European cuisine.

European Apprenticeship and Training

During his first seven months in Italy, Bartolotta worked at Locanda dell’Angelo under Chef Angelo Paracucchi in Lunigiana. He then traveled to Imola to work at the Michelin-rated two-star Ristorante San Domenico under Chef Valentino Marcattilii and owner Gianluigi Morini, where he earned the title of "Chef di Cucina" at age 24. In 1984 he moved on to France, working at Relais et Chateau and Traditions et Qualité restaurants under several three-star Michelin chefs, including Moulin de Mougins under Chef Roger Verge, Paul Bocuse in Collognes à Mont D’Or, with Chefs Pierre and Michel Troisgros in Roanne, and at Taillevent in Paris. While in Paris, Bartolotta also took advanced pastry courses in Gaston Le Nôtre's Ecôle Le Nôtre in Plaisir.

Career (United States)

Bartolotta returned to New York in 1988, working for Tony May at two restaurants: developing San Domenico NY as head chef while also working at Palio at night, where he met his wife Robbi Eisenmesser. During his tenure, San Domenico NY received a three-star review from The New York Times food critic Bryan Miller, an Esky Award from Esquire's John Mariani for "Best New Restaurant in the U.S." in 1988, and was noted as one of the "Top 50 Restaurants in the United States" by Mimi Sheraton of Condé Nast Traveler.

In 1990 and 1991, San Domenico received four stars from Forbes Magazine. In 1991, Bartolotta left New York for Chicago, joining Levy Restaurants as head chef of their signature restaurant, Spiaggia, overseeing Spiaggia, the Spiaggia Café, and the Spiaggia private dining rooms. From 1991 to 2000 he ran Spiaggia; in 1993 he became a managing partner. In 1994 he won the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef: Midwest.

Spiaggia received the AAA Four Diamond Award consecutively from 1994 to 2000. In 1997 he was awarded the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano del Mondo. Spiaggia was noted as one of Restaurants and Institutions Top 100 Restaurants in 1998 and 1999, and became Chicago's first and only restaurant to win four stars from both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine.