Born in Sicily and moving to Brooklyn with his family at the age of 10, Nunzio Cassara never forgot the taste of his native cuisine. "My grandmother and mother were great cooks and when I was 14 my parents opened an Italian-American restaurant, which I helped out at through high school," said the 52-year-old Cassara, who has resided in Jefferson since 1992.

Working at his family's business as well as other restaurants in New York City throughout his teens and early 20s to pay for college, "I had an epiphany and decided to stick with the restaurant industry as my profession," he said. Cassara ultimately attended the NY Restaurant School (now known as The Art Institute), after which he landed jobs at such prestigious restaurants as the Plaza Hotel's Edwardian Room, where he became known for creating upscale cuisine with a European flair.

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Source: http://www.dailyrecord.com/