About the Chef – Chef de Cuisine Tomasso Tarantino A Los Angeles native, Tommaso Tarantino began his career working in his family’s Italian restaurant.  He secured his first career job as an assistant cook at Anthony’s Italian Restaurant in Arcadia, California in 1986.  After four years, he left for Italy to immerse himself in his culinary heritage.  He found work with Elia Rizzo at Il Desco in Verona and Vittorio Fusara in Iseo, Lombardy, at the acclaimed Ristorante Il Volto.  Returning to the United States in 1992, Tarantino was chosen as chef at Ristorante Maldonado in Pasadena.  After four years running the kitchen, Italy beckoned again and Tommaso left for a sojourn in Piemonte.  Here he worked at Il Cascinale Nuovo in Asti with Walter Ferretto and later at the Michelin two-star Filipot in Torre Pelice with famed Chef Walter Eynard.  Then, traveling to Central and Southern Italy under the auspices of Piero Selvaggio, who was preparing to open Valentino in Las Vegas, Tarantino was able to experience first hand some of the finest talents in the country, from Gambero Rosso with Fulvio Pierangelini in Tuscany to Gennaro Esposito at Torre del Saracino near Sorrento. Since Valentino Las Vegas debuted in 1999, Tarantino has worked under the tutelage of Luciano Pellegrini, Executive Chef of the Valentino Restaurant Group and James Beard Foundation award winner.  As Chef de Cuisine, Tommaso was responsible for supervising a crew of over 20 cooks at The Grill at Valentino and the Valentino restaurant at the Venetian Hotel and Resort.  In 2007, Tarantino took a six month leave to research and delve into the flourishing interest in Sicilian cooking, working with the region’s top talents, Ciccio Sultano of Il Duomo in Ragusa and “most promising chef” Accursio Craparo at La Gazza Ladra in Modica (Selvaggio’s birthplace). Tommaso is currently at the helm of Selvaggio’s flagship restaurant in Santa Monica, Valentino, where he discovering Southern California and the abundance of ingredients available for his menus.