When's the last time you picked up a business book that was so engaging you couldn't put it down? Steve Difillippo was only 24 when he opened his first Davio's restaurant. Since then, he's wowed Julia Child with his pomodoro, overlooked some triple-X rated shenanigans at Table 7, taken on American Express, gotten himself into Time and Newsweek (for taking on American Express), cooked a rabbit for Stevie Ray Vaughn, inadvertently gotten a guest divorced, whipped up some tasty eats at the Super Bowl--and that's just the beginning. The money hasn't been bad, either: that first restaurant is now the hub of a rapidly growing $50 million restaurant brand group and a $10 million Davio's brand food line. With guests constantly asking how he did it, Steve has written the ultimate guide to starting a restaurant, running a successful business, enjoying food, and living life. The 5.9 million restaurant workers who say they want to open their own restaurant will go nuts over this book, but so will anybody who loves food and the restaurant world--heck, anybody who wants to make money and have a blast doing it. As a special bonus, Steve includes twelve classic Davio's recipes.
About the Author: After graduating from Boston University in 1982, Steve DiFillippo, CEO of Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse, attended The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. During college and culinary school, Steve DiFillippo learned the restaurant business from the ground up working at the 300-seat Seaside restaurant in Boston's Faneuil Hall beginning as a coffee clerk and ending up as executive chef. In 1985, at the age of 24, after seven years of working fulltime in the business, DiFillippo purchased an existing spot named Davio's. The new Davio's was hailed as a renaissance on Boston's Newbury Street and garnered rave reviews for being "innovative, creative, and bold." Over the years, DiFillippo opened more Davio's in the Boston area as well as in Philadelphia (1999), Gillette Stadium (2008), Atlanta (2010), with New York City scheduled for 2013. In the fall of 2007, DiFillippo launched Davio's popular Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls as a retail product. This has evolved into a $10 million retail food business and an expanding line of Davio's products are sold in 3,000 markets in 40 states, including Costco, BJs, Big Y and other supermarkets. He also hosts the "Dish It Up" segment on WCVB's StyleBoston.DiFillippo is actively involved in numerous civic, professional, and philanthropic organizations and events, including Rodman Ride for Kids; Raising a Reader; and the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Steve was inducted into the Massachusetts Restaurant Association's Hall of Fame in 2008, and the Anti-Defamation League of New England honored him with its Torch of Liberty award in 2010. DiFillippo lives in Wenham, MA, with his wife Pamela and their four children.