Michele Casadei Massari

Michele Casadei Massari (born 17 July 1975 in Riccione Italy) is an Italian entrepreneur and chef at Piccolo Café based in New York City. He is also the executive chef at the BiograFilm Food Academy and the founder of the Italian Restaurant Lucciola also based in New York City.

Early life

Michele was born in Riccione and raised in Bologna, located in the center of Italy and spent most of his early life around the towns of Bologna, Padova, Riccione, and Monterado. His grandfather Luigi initially educated him about the significance of understanding food.

Career

Michele was on track to become a doctor but he decided to pursue a career in the food industry and worked nights in restaurants. Following this, he worked in Sardinia with Alberto Ghezzi and both hailing from his native town of Bologna.

Piccolo Cafe

In the year 2008, Michele moved from Bologna to New York City and began working on his ambition to serve coffee on the Union Square Holiday Market in New York. Prior to this, he had worked in Asia and had experience of working in seasons in Sardinia, markets, fairs, streets, restaurants, pubs, discos, and several others. Michele established a foundation for Piccolo Cafe in New York City. From a stall in the Union Square Holiday Market, Michele along with Alberto went on to build their first Piccolo Cafe joint on April 1, 2009. Michele’s business quickly expanded and soon he went on to form a catering division under the name of Piccolo Café Umbrella.

Lucciola

Michele is also a founder and executive chef at Lucciola – A new Italian restaurant based in New York City. The restaurant pays homage to the city of Bologna carrying the tradition and cultural heritage of Italian cuisine and its cinematic history. The restaurant was launched by Michele Casadei Massari, Alberto Ghezzi, and Gianluca Capozzi with co-founders Erica Monti and Luca Filicori. He also works as an executive chef at BiograFilm Food Academy proudly helping, coordinating, scouting, suggesting, and managing for the food and beverage operations for the film festival taking place in Bologna each year.