JOEY CAMPANARO

CHEF, RESTAURATEUR

Chef & Owner of The Little Owl & Little Owl – The Venue, Market Table, and The Clam.
 Joey Campanaro was raised in Philadelphia where the food of his childhood inspired him to make cooking his vocation. With a culinary approach rooted in his Italian grandmother’s kitchen and honed in a range of America’s top restaurants, Campanaro brings a lifelong affinity for Mediterranean cuisine to every dish he creates.

Campanaro began his career as a teenager at seasonal restaurants on the Jersey Shore. He was instantly hooked by the fraternal, energetic nature of restaurant life, and went on to major in restaurant management at Penn State University. During his studies, Campanaro spent an inspiring semester in Italy experiencing firsthand the Mediterranean lifestyle and cuisine. A later trip to France to study winemaking solidified his love of Mediterranean cuisine.

Campanaro’s passion and cooking skills landed him in some of America’s top restaurants in Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York, where he learned from the brightest chef minds in the business, including Neil Murphy, Joachim Splichal, Jimmy Bradley, and Jonathan Waxman. While in Los Angeles, Campanaro was also Chef de Cuisine of Universal Studio’s Executive Dining Room and the proprietor of his own Hollywood-based catering company.

In 2001, Campanaro moved back to New York to open The Harrison in Tribeca, where he earned a two-star review from The New York Times. In 2004, he took on the role of Executive Chef of Pace, an Italian restaurant in TriBeCa, then went on to re-open his catering business, Blackfoot Consulting. Through Blackfoot Consulting, Campanaro continues to cater and consult for such esteemed clients as Martha Stewart, Mike Piazza, NBC Universal, and Condé Nast Publishing.

In 2006, Campanaro opened his dream restaurant, The Little Owl. The Little Owl has enjoyed a continued buzz as one of New York’s most exciting restaurants and received wide acclaim from critics and guests alike, including a two-star review from The New York Times. The Little Owl has since been joined by Little Owl – The Venue, a private event space and culinary showroom at 93 Greenwich Ave. The venue is a flexible room that has given Campanaro a canvas to showcase his talent and passion on a more intimate scale, allowing for a vast range of guests from 2-70 guests.

In 2007, Campanaro joined with his good friend Mikey Price to open Market Table on a charming corner of Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood. Here, warm hospitality and modern American, market-driven cuisine take center stage. Following the success of Market Table, the duo has gone on to open The Clam, a seafood-centric restaurant just a few blocks from Market Table in the West Village. Campanaro’s and Price’s partnership has received critical and popular acclaim and has been featured in such outlets as Food & Wine, Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, Travel + Leisure, NBC’s “Today” show, and many more.

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