Celebrity Chef Michael Chiarello Dead At 61

NAPA, CA — Celebrity chef Michael Chiarello, who built a restaurant empire in the Bay Area, has died, his business group announced over the weekend. He was 61.

Chiarello died Friday at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa, where he had been receiving treatment for a week for an allergic reaction and anaphylactic shock.

“We deeply mourn the loss of our beloved patriarch Michael,” his family said in a prepared statement. “His legacy will forever live on in the love he poured into every dish and the passion he instilled in all of us to savor life's flavors.”

Chiarello was born in Red Bluff and grew up watching his mother cook in the tradition of his family’s southern Italian heritage. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, was named Food & Wine Magazine’s Chef of the Year in 1985 and received the CIA’s Chef of the Year Award in 1995.

He achieved success in 1987 with the critically acclaimed restaurant Tra Vigne and went on to open Bottega, Coqueta and Ottimo, all in San Francisco or Napa Valley.

In 2003, he launched his Emmy-winning Food Network show “Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello.” He also appeared on “Top Chef,” Top Chef Masters” and “Next Iron Chef.”

“A very sad day for me personally and the culinary world,” celebrity chef and fellow Food Network regular Robert Irvine said Saturday in a social media post. “My thoughts and Prayers go out to family and team mates … RIP my Dear friend you will be sorely missed.”

In addition to his restaurant and television work, Chiarello authored many cookbooks and launched a winery, an olive oil business and a retail line of food and kitchen products.

“Chef Michael Chiarello's passion for food and life will forever be etched in our kitchens and our hearts,” his business partners said in a prepared statement.

In 2016, Chiarello was accused of sexual harassment by two former Coqueta employees. Lawsuits filed by the former employees were settled the following year. Also in 2016, he was arrested and charged with drug possession and driving while intoxicated, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported that in 2009 another lawsuit was brought by a former pastry chef who alleged sexual harassment but later settled.

Chiarello’s family has requested those wishing to make a donation in his memory give to Meals on Wheels.