Caroline Fidanza

In 1998, two friends, Mark Firth and Andrew Tarlow, decided their Brooklyn neighborhood needed a place for good food, drink, and company. They took matters into their own hands, acquiring and restoring a 1920s "tin top" diner and, fortuitously, meeting Caroline Fidanza, who joined them as chef. The rest is history. Caroline is the executive chef of Diner and its sister restaurant, Marlow and Sons. Caroline, an alumnus of Po, as an intern when Mario Batali was in residence, and of Peter Hoffman's Savoy, is devoted to sourcing her seasonal ingredients locally, believing that "sustainability is the new organic." Caroline's delicious food is straight forward, taking the fullest advantage of the quality of the ingredients delivered to her by a "who's who" of our region's farmers. And Caroline knows her way around meat. Her use of pork is the stuff of local culinary legend. Caroline will contribute to the discussion her culinary rationale for using humanely raised, pastured meats and will make the point by offering tastes of the same.