Giorgio Giacinto was born and raised in New York by his parents who were originally from Calabria, Italy. Upon graduating from high school, he got a grant to attend the New York Restaurant School to study becoming a chef. After having a few brief stints in various restaurants, Giacinto decided to open a DJ and catering group called Renaissance Entertainment, while simultaneously being a physical education teacher and coaching basketball.

After working in the catering industry for a few years, Giacinto wanted to go back to his roots, so he saved enough money to spend the next two years in Italy, traveling from south to north cooking in various restaurants, and especially learning Calabrian cuisine, where he spent one of the two years. After coming back to the United States, he found it hard to find a job, so Giacinto took a job at an American food restaurant. Although after working with him the restaurant owners decided to incorporate his Italian expertise into the menu, Giacinto wasn’t cooking what he loved and what he was good at.