Chef and TV personality Michael Chiarello dies at 61 after being treated for allergic reaction

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Chiarello, a chef known for his Italian-inspired Californian restaurants who won an Emmy Award for best host for “Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello" and appeared on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters,” has died. He was 61.

Chiarello died Friday at Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa due to an allergic reaction that resulted in anaphylactic shock, according to Chiarello’s restaurant group Gruppo Chiarello. He had been at the hospital receiving treatment for the allergic reaction over the past week. Details on how he developed the allergic reaction were not immediately available.

“We deeply mourn the loss of our beloved patriarch Michael. His culinary brilliance, boundless creativity, and unwavering commitment to family were at the core of his being,” the restaurant group said in a statement.

Chiarello, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, opened his first restaurant at just 22 — Toby’s, in Miami. He would go on to open various restaurants around Napa Valley and San Francisco, including Tra Vigne Restaurant, Coqueta, Ottimo and Bottega. He also owned the Chiarello Family Vineyards in Yountville, California.