Chef Anna Maria Santorelli
Anna Maria emigrated from Naples at the age of ten, with her parents and four siblings. She was then raised in Brooklyn, and assisting her mother in the kitchen, learned the Neapolitan culinary repertoire which she eventually mastered. Her passion for cooking became the hallmark of her illustrious career. After completing a culinary arts program in 1992, her big break came a few months later, when she learned that the then Executive Chef of the Mayor Dinkins Administration was hiring.
Anna Maria made her debut at Gracie Mansion as a prep cook and was quickly promoted to assistant cook. Under the Giuliani administration she was elevated to the position of Executive Chef, and later Chief Administrator of Gracie Mansion. In these roles she was responsible for all facets of event planning and execution. Her success at Gracie Mansion can be gauged by the praise she received from Mayor Giuliani, who presented her with the New York Restaurant School's distinguished career award.
In 2006, Anna Maria took on her greatest challenge. She opened “Anna Maria’s Restaurant” in Larchmont NY, in the dual roles of Owner and Executive Chef. Anna Maria’s Restaurant has received numerous accolades. Her restaurant has been recognized in enthusiastic reviews and highlighted interviews in the New York Times, The Westchester Journal News & Westchester Magazine. Anna Maria herself has made a mark on reality television as a contestant in two episodes of The Food Network’s “Chopped” and her restaurant was featured on an episode of The Food Network’s “Restaurant Stakeout”.
In her Larchmont kitchen is where Anna Maria can be found today. After years of cooking for dozens of dignitaries and countless celebrities--such as Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli--to name a few, Anna Maria has found great pleasure and success in cooking for the Westchester community.
