Massimo Sola, who once earned a Michelin star for a restaurant in Italy, is now the executive chef at Felina, the award-winning Italian restaurant on East Ridgewood Avenue in Ridgewood. He has replaced Carlos Valdez, who had a short stint at Felina, which opened in 2019 with founding four-star chef Anthony Bucco.

"I’m putting all my skills into a beautiful new restaurant," said Sola, 56, a Milan native, who has worked for the past 40 years in restaurants in Europe, the Middle East and New York. He also was, he said, a private chef for the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, and for rock superstars, including Beyonce, Rihanna and Madonna.