Absorbing culture and passing it on through food is part of Nick Liberato's heritage. Raised believing that every day is a holiday which should be celebrated with food, wine, great conversation, and loved ones, Nick has been cooking professionally for 18 years, and now calls the Southern California coast his home. Nick is a personal chef to the stars, a revered cocktail mixologist, world traveler, husband,father & surfer.
He began his career path at the age of 7 working at his grandparents’ produce stand at The Italian Market, located in the heart of South Philadelphia. Using his family's fresh produce, Northern and Southern Italian recipes were taught to him daily as he assisted his father and grandmother for traditional family gatherings. At the ripe age of 11, he discovered the next major ingredients to his life: Surfing and snowboarding. By combining his boardriding and culinary passions, Nick traveled the world creating amazing meals at the best beach and mountain locations.
Self taught, he cut his teeth travelng with families to their private tropical homes and beyond, but soon started his own catering business called Calidelphia. His success led him on an amazing journey of invention for musicians, politicians, fine artists, television personalities, and people all throughout the business world. Desiring an intimate knowledge of every aspect of the restaurant business, Nick began a self-imposed training regimen working every position in food service, hiring and firing, working front of house and back.
After years of honing his craft with various chef positions at LA hotspots ,Nick landed a position at Sona , where he became the protege to chef David Meyers, he was heavily influenced by modern french and japanese cuisine. After having the opportunity to work and study cocktails with the famous Milk & Honey in New York City, Nick went on to consult and create a variety of cocktails at The stylish French brasserie Comme Ca in West Hollywood, West Los Angeles’s Toscana, and David Meyer's new Pizzeria Ortica in Costa Mesa, CA. Having studied various techniques with an eye for detail and a vision for food service, a short list of Nick’s celebrity clients include Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Kiedis, The Beastie Boys, Hank Azaria and Cher—and that’s just in Malibu alone...
Events Mr. Liberato has participated in include multiple stints at The James Beard House in New York (2005-2010), Bogota Food and Wine Festival in Colombia (2011-2012) as well as various events spanning locations from Sydney to Tokyo. In October of 2012 , Nick traveled to Italy to and cooked his way through the whole country,region by region for two months. Recently, Nick appeared on Top Chef Masters on Bravo TV , multiple appearances on KCAL ,KTLA and has appeared as a chef for three seasons of episodes on Spike TVs hit show Bar Rescue. Nick currently owns/operates his Catering business Calidelphia and is executive chef/partner of The Venice Whaler in Venice Beach California .Every step of Nick’s life has included learning as much as he can in the food and hospitality business, while keeping his emphasis on friends and family intact. His loyalty, warmth, humor, creativity, and culinary passions endure.
Instagram- @chefnicky
FB-Chef Nick Liberato
Twitter- @calidelphia
