Fabio Viviani admits that he didn’t enter the culinary world at age 11 in his native Florence, Italy, because he was especially passionate about cooking. “I just found a job in a bakery, baking pies, making bread. I took it to make a little money for myself and to help the family,” he says. “If I would have found a plumbing job, I would have been a plumber.”

Thankfully, he ended up on a career path that put him in front of the stove instead of under the sink — one that has transformed him into a celebrity (thanks in part to a notable stint on Top Chef), cookbook author, and head of a 15-restaurant empire — including Chicago’s Siena Tavern and Mercato locations in San Diego; Chicago; Cleveland; and Auburn Hills, Michigan — with several new venues in the pipeline.