Chef Anthony Bucco, who four months ago opened the much-ballyhooed contemporary Italian restaurant Felina in Ridgewood, does not lack confidence. The convivial, fast-talking chef ("I have a lot of energy," he explains) has reason to be self-assured.

He worked for James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathan Waxman. He received four-star reviews for his work at the cherished Stage Left in New Brunswick, the beloved Uproot in Warren, the celebrated Ryland Inn in Whitehouse Station and the acclaimed Restaurant Latour in Hamburg. In fact, he helped reopen the Ryland Inn — and was rewarded with the first four-star review from New Jersey Monthly in a decade.