Massimo Capra

Massimo Capra
Born (1960-05-24) May 24, 1960 (age 64)
Soresina, Italy
Culinary career
Cooking styleItalian
Current restaurant(s)
    • Capra's Kitchen, Mississauga, Ontario (2017–present),
    • Boccone Trattoria, Mississauga, Ontario (2013–present),
    • Massimo’s Italian, Niagara Falls, Ontario (2018–present)
Television show(s)

Massimo Capra (born 1960) is an Italian restaurateur, restaurant consultant, cookbook author, and celebrity chef. He is known for his appearances on the television shows CityTV's Cityline, Global's The Morning Show, and Food Network shows Restaurant Makeover, Chopped: Canada, Top Chef Canada, and Wall of Chefs. He based in Mississauga, Ontario; near Toronto.[1]

Career

Massimo Capra was born May 24, 1960, in Soresina, Lombardy, Italy.[2] He was primarily raised in Cremona.[2] While he was a teenager he left home from 1974 to 1977 to study cooking in Salsomaggiore.[2] Capra began his culinary career in Venice, working in a trattoria.[3] He served in the Italian Army.[2]

In 1982, Capra moved to Toronto.[4] He started out working at Archer’s, a family-owned restaurant; followed by work at Prego Della Piazza, a celebrity destination.[4]

In 2014, Capra started working on a new restaurant venue modeled after his successful Pearson Airport restaurant Boccone Pronto. Located inside Doha, Qatar's Hamad International Airport, the restaurant was dubbed Soprafino Restaurant. He also pursued several other ventures during this time.[citation needed]

He is currently the owner of Capra's Kitchen in Mississauga, Ontario, in partnership with Mohamad Fakih of Paramount Fine Foods.

Publications

Capra had a monthly column in The Globe and Mail's "New Life" section. Several of his recipes have appeared in print, and was the food editor for Canadian Home Trend Magazine for several years.

His first full cookbook, One-Pot Italian (September 2007), was published by Allen & Unwin; followed by the award-winning cookbook Three Chefs: The Kitchen Men (2012).

Massimo Capra was the brand ambassador for Buitoni pizza, Samsung appliances, Silani cheese, and Kraft olive oil dressings.[citation needed] He currently raises awareness for Grana Padano, Prosciutto di Parma, and Prosciutto di San Daniele.[citation needed]

Restaurants

Active

Closed

  • Soprafino (2014–2021), Hamad International Airport, Doha, Qatar
  • Mistura Restaurant (October 1997–September 2019), co-founded with Paolo Paolini, 256 Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario[4][6][2]
  • Sopra Upper Lounge (c. 2011 – c. 2019), 256 Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario[2]

Personal life

He is married to Rosa Capra and has raised two sons with her, Andrew (born in 1988) and Daniel (born in 1990).[7]

In June 2018, three days before his 30th birthday, Capra's eldest son Andrew passed away in an undisclosed accident while living in Prague, Czech Republic.[7]

Capra currently resides in the Lorne Park neighbourhood in Mississauga, Ontario.

References

  1. ^ Leigh, Tiffany (2021-01-31). "Where Capra's Kitchen chef and owner Massimo Capra gets takeout sushi, cashew chicken and fried noodles". Toronto Life. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Maher, Michelle (November 25, 2011). "Chef Massimo heats it up at Eight Words Café". SaskToday.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  3. ^ a b "Celebrity Chef Massimo Capra Joins MS Paul Gauguin for September Voyage". Travel Agent Central. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  4. ^ a b c "Chef Massimo Capra's Mistura Restaurant and Sopra Upper Lounge". The Canadian Business Journal. 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  5. ^ "Capra's Kitchen raises the bar in Mississauga but needs work: Review". thestar.com. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  6. ^ Carlberg, Amy (February 14, 2020). "Toronto restaurant was still taking Valentine's reservations even though it closed last year". BlogTO. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  7. ^ a b DeMontis, Rita (August 30, 2018). "Celebrity chef Massimo Capra opens up about the loss of his oldest son". torontosun. Retrieved 2022-08-07.