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With
a Jewish mother and an Italian father, Melissa Petitto was raised
around an eclectic collection of food in the unlikely city of
Birmingham, Al. With two seemingly diverse cultures that center life
around the kitchen, Petitto gained an early appreciation for food
and its impact on a person’s life. However throughout elementary and
high school Petitto was convinced that ballet was her passion and
her future. Then while still in high school, Petitto apprenticed
with world-renowned chef Frank Stitt at Highlands Bar and Grill, and
she was smitten with a new and familiar passion for cooking and for
food.
Attending Johnson & Wales University from 2000 to 2004, Melissa
Petitto was afforded the opportunities of working for The Governor’s
House Inn as the bed and breakfast chef and at Cooking Light
magazine in the test kitchen. Graduating from Johnson & Wales
University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Nutrition
in 2004, Petitto received the top honor of Apprenti Cuisinier. In
order to enhance her skills and opportunities, she furthered her
education at Emory University Hospitals with a dietetic internship.
Upon passing her registered dietician’s exam, Petitto made the move
to New York City to pursue her career goal of becoming a personal
chef.
After almost two years in the city, Petitto has become the personal
chef she had envisioned herself to be with an A-list clientele. Upon
meeting with a potential client, Petitto custom designs menus to fit
that client’s lifestyle, health needs, and desires. She shops for
the freshest ingredients at local groceries, ensuring the quality of
her final product. Cooking the various menu items and meals in each
client’s home, Petitto is there from the creation to the final
presentation of the meal. In recent months, she has traveled to
South Carolina to work at the Hilton Head Health Institute, a
premier weight loss spa, where she lectures, presents food
demonstrations, and consults with individual clients in attendance.
Despite her obsession for all things culinary, Ms. Petitto makes
time to enjoy other hobbies and passions; spending time with her dog
Bella, attending the ballet, practicing Pilates and yoga, and
reveling in all that New York City has to offer.
Whether cooking dinner for an individual client or a dinner party
for 25, Chef Melissa Petitto, R.D. exudes the passion she feels for
nutritious food and its role in a family’s life.