DEWEY
LOSASSO: EXECUTIVE CHEF/CO-OWNER
NORTH ONE 10
A
founding member of the 1980s era “Mango Gang,”
a group of bold young chefs who put South Florida’s
fresh, tropical-accented cuisine on the national culinary
map, Dewey LoSasso’s (42) growth as a groundbreaking
chef has not slowed since those heady days. Alongside fellow
Mango Gang associates including Norman Van Aken, Mark Militello,
Allen Susser and Douglas Rodriguez, he has continued to
pioneer modern cuisine, making a name for himself as a talented
innovator in Miami and later New York City. After three
years of raves in New York and numerous stints as guest
chef in kitchens around the world, LoSasso and wife Dale
(41), a veteran restaurant manager and wine director, returned
to Miami to open their first joint venture, North One 10.
Since, the duo have earned popular and critical acclaim,
including rave reviews in The Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel,
a nod from the Miami New Times as “Best New Restaurant”
and a guest host spot for chef LoSasso on a Survivor-style
culinary reality series which aired exclusively on CBS.
A graduate
of the Culinary Institute of America, LoSasso, a New Jersey
native who started flipping pizzas as a child in his family’s
home pizza kitchen, gravitated to South Florida in the early
1980s. He moved from the training grounds of area restaurants
to the stewardship of the Foundlings Club, an exclusive
private membership club on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
Here, under the wing of philanthropist/art collector
Micky Wolfson, LoSasso began attracting notice for his creative,
original cuisine, which he dubbed Florida Progressive. With
Wolfson, LoSasso traveled extensively through Europe and
beyond – conducting restaurant research, visiting
vineyards and spending time in kitchens around the world.
Returning from these far-flung ventures, he was granted
carte blanche, turning the Foundlings Club kitchen into
a culinary laboratory, crafting cutting edge cuisine born
of global influences and ingredients. During his tenure
as executive chef, LoSasso’s original cuisine garnered
many awards and put the club on the map as one of the best
dining experiences in South Florida.
After
a turn as Donatella Versace’s personal chef and food
event coordinator, LoSasso went to work for China Grill
Management (CGM), serving as executive and concept chef
for Tuscan Steak in Miami, and later relocating to New York
to open CGM restaurants there. Still under the aegis of
the successful China Grill Management team, LoSasso then
served as executive chef at New York’s 950-room Hudson
Hotel. After seven years in New York and the birth of two
daughters, Dewey and Dale decided the time was right to
re-enter the Miami fray. With Dale overseeing the wine list
and managing the business, as she has done so ably for Carmen
the Restaurant, China Grill Management, Mark’s South
Beach and Chef Allen, Dewey is free to concentrate on mesmerizing
diners with his continually evolving contemporary American
cuisine.
Dewey
and Dale LoSasso live in Miami Shores, Florida with their
daughters, Zoe Sage (6) and Siena Hope (3).
