About Fat Tuscan
I grew up in my Italian grandmothers kitchen, watching her build flavors from simple ingredients. I learned at an early age that food was a way of life and its preparation was the art to a good life. My love of food naturally lead me to opening a place of my own. Teaching has not only allowed me to really talk to my customers and students, but also, as I cook with them we discuss how food shapes their lives. It is the way us Italians have been for centuries; cooking, eating and celebrating together. It is what makes me a great chef.
Chef Michelle Gioviti
Est. 2008
The Fat Tuscan opened in October of 2008 starting as a small lunch café, growing into the #1 romantic dinner spot and, finally, evolved into what it is today offering cooking classes, concierge wedding services and venue rental for all types of events. The café is set in a beautifully restored 1908 Historic house with original wood floors and a warm interior reflecting a European Tuscan elegance. Our brick covered courtyard patio is accented with a Lion Fountain modeled after a French design. The café venue invokes an afternoon in the old country that is equally suited from classy wine tastings and intimate dinners to flour-in-the-air and pasta on your face cooking classes. Classes are offered by Chef and Owner, Michelle Gioviti. Michelle traces her family roots back to Tuscany and incorporates a philosophy of slowly prepared foods with simple ingredients that carry bold flavors, which is the trademark of the Italian cooking style. Whether you wish to take a cooking class, have a private dinner event, or host an intimate wedding, The Fat Tuscan instantly creates a relaxed and warm atmosphere where people laugh and come together. As in Italy, the wine flows and laughter spills over, no matter what the reason, you will leave feeling fed, comforted and your soul richer for the experience.
30 years of experience
Chef M. Gioviti is a graduate of the University of Florida with a Degree in Literature who found she could not escape the passion she has for food and culture. She started working in kitchens from the age of 15 and continued in some form or another throughout her career until she opened the Fat Tuscan in 2008. She has accumulated over 30 years of experience working in the food industry and is well traveled speaking fluent Italian and frequently visits her family in Italy. She leads a cooking tour to Tuscany yearly in which she immerses you in her Italian family’s daily lifestyle and translates the cooking forms, foods and techniques for you as you experience the Tuscan countryside. She has been teaching cooking classes as the main chef at the Fat Tuscan since 2012 and moved into full time teaching in 2016. She works with local farms, non-profits and other small businesses to help the local food industry and food production improve our community’s quality and lifestyle.