Christian Petroni
Born and raised in the Bronx, Christian Petroni has made a name of himself by becoming one of the most prevalent chefs in Italian cuisine & the art of red sauce inThe NY & NYC area.After spending years under the tutelage of Andy Pforzheimer and the Barteca Group, Christian moved on to start the groundbreaking woodfired-Italian restaurant, Fortina, along with his partner John Nealon.
During his time at Fortina, Christian made leaps and bounds on the Food Network, winning Next Food Network Star, Season 14; in addition to recurring ongoing guest appearances judging and cooking on shows like Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Guy’s Grocery Games, Guys Ranch Kitchen, Diners Drive Ins & Dives, Supermarket Stakeout, Tournament of Champions and more.
With eyes towards an ever growing multimedia career and desires to diversify his culinary range, Christian stepped away from the Fortina restaurant group after successfully opening five restaurants in 8 years. In the months that followed, CP founded Gabagool Media: multi-media and consulting company with a specialize focus in creating content/apparel & guidance for chefs and small businesses worldwide.
From the age of six all Christian ever wanted to do was be a chef. Never in a million years was television & multimedia a thought in his mind. However his personality, charm and infectious attitude in the kitchen made him an instant hit on camera propelling him from the winner of Food Network Star to a network staple.
No matter if he’s cooking on the line or on camera, it’s all about the food. At his core CP loves to cook, connect with his diners and lives to make people feel like family.
CP met his wife Sheri 6 years ago and, together, they have 2 kids; Beau (4) AND Briar Rose (2) which CP still cannot believe. He says he owes it all to his cooking since in his own words, “she is way out of my league, I don’t get it.”
