MEET MASSI

Born into a family of chefs and raised in Ferrara, a city rich with culinary tradition in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, Massi was destined for a life of cooking. His earliest culinary memory at age six included going to his grandparents’ farm, where he and his family gathered in the converted barn they used for making cured meats and sausage. He remembers his entire family standing around a big table, ten hands kneading meat, wine and seasoning until it was ready for casing.

Massi entered the commercial kitchen at age 15, as a summer intern at his father’s restaurant. Massi’s father, a prominent chef in Bologna, wanted his son’s first professional experience to instill a realistic sense of the career he was about to choose, not to mention a hearty work ethic. While other interns worked six-hour shifts, Massi worked his dad’s twelve-hour days. He gained exposure across all kitchen stations from prepping to grilling to learning how to de-bone a prosciutto. This experience solidified Massi’s career choice and he went on to five years of culinary training in Ferrara.

After graduating, Massi moved to Milan, where he gained experience at a four-star hotel. Massi’s sense of adventure and culinary skill brought him to Prague and Bournemouth, a beautiful seaside town in the UK, where he trained local chefs in Italian cuisine. He returned to Italy and held positions in Rimini and Lido di Spina, two towns on the Adriatic coast and in his hometown, Ferrara. There Massi gained a following in Emilia-Romagna for his innovative approach to Italian cuisine, as he regularly pushed the boundaries of regional cooking and techniques.

In 1999, Massi traveled to Los Angeles to train under Gino Angelini, a James Beard Foundation best chef nominee, at Vincenti Ristorante in Brentwood. Massi split his time between Ferrara and LA for three years until he met Jennifer, his wife-to-be, just six days before returning to Italy. Shortly after the enamored two said good-bye at LAX, Jen went to Italy for a month. After that, Massi decided to move to San Francisco to go see about this girl.

Massi and Jen now live in Napa, where he has brought his northern Italian cuisine to various Napa Valley wineries such as Signorello Vineyards, Castello di Amorosa and V. Sattui, offering catering services, menu development, kitchen management and culinary classes.

The sea has always been important to Massi as a person and as a chef. Massi’s favorite place to be is on, in or near the water. Spending his childhood summers on the shores of the Adriatic and working in many seaside towns has afforded Massi wonderful memories and the opportunity to play with diverse types of seafood and the ways in which to prepare them. Massi’s equal respect for land, and all the plants and animals it sustains, completes his inspiration for Riva Cucina. Signifying the meeting point between water and land, Riva embodies both Massi’s passion and his roots.

Meet Jen