Presenter Profile
Gaetano Di Benedetto
Executive Chef of Gaetano’s Ristorante, Forest Park, Ill.
Chef Gaetano Di Benedetto is a native of the lush Sicilian coastal town of Bagheria and is currently the owner and Executive Chef of Gaetano’s Ristorante in Forest Park, Illinois.
He began as a kitchen apprentice in Palermo and is a graduate of the prominent IPAS professional culinary school there.
His cooking career spans three decades, maintaining the title of Executive Chef since 1989 at restaurants throughout Italy, as well as in France, England and the U.S.
While still in Sicily, Gaetano served as chef at the opulent Villa Paino, where he was accorded the honor of preparing state dinners for Italy's President Francesco Cossiga. After leaving Sicily, Gaetano worked in such culinary capitals as London, Paris and Milan before accepting his first U.S. position in Celebration, Florida, for Disney.
In 2001 Gaetano was invited by the Italian delegation to serve as chef for Team Italy and government dignitaries at the Olympic Village during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.