Private Chef Nina Leffel

I am a professional chef with 10 years experience working as a chef in several Italian cities. I started my culinary journey in my uncles restaurant in Ischia, Italy helping out as a child. This is where I first fell in love with the kitchen. From then on I started working every summer in different restaurants and hotels in Ischia while attending the liceo alberghiero specializing in the Enogastronomico track. Once I was done with school I started working full time as a chef. I worked in several kitchens in Ischia until I decided to travel to gain more experience and be introduced to different cooking styles. Since then I have worked in Bologna, Florence, Aosta, and Sardegna and now I am here in Arizona and want to share all that I have acquired and my passion for Italian cuisine.

For me, cooking is...

For me cooking is a way to express myself and where I am from. Each dish I prepare is a part of me and also a part of the culture I come from.

I learned to cook at...

I learned to cook as a child in my uncles restaurant, and from there at the Liceo Alberghiero and all the restaurants I've cooked at in the last 8 yrs