After being at the helm of Le Madri, restaurateur Pino Luongo's longtime Tuscan on East Eighteenth Street, for just a year, Pippa Calland got the news that New York Times dining critic Eric Asimov would be reviewing it. Despite assurances from friends,and co-workers, and the knowledge that she'd breathed new life into the place, Calland waited with some trepidation. The review, which appeared in November, was exceptionally laudatory, praising her for an "evolved-Italian approach" that combined "respect for Italian traditions and international sensibility."

Calland's deep knowledge of her art doesn't come as a surprise, being the result of years of work, study and dedication. Unfulfilled by academia, the Indianapolis native left her graduate studies at the University of Buffalo in 1994 to attend ICE on a James Beard Foundation scholarship. After graduation, Calland continued to pursue her passion and education by studying at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in Asti, Italy (site of ICE's "Certificate in Italian Cuisine" program); and at the Beringer School for American Chefs in Napa under Madeleine Kamman.

Internships at two restaurants in Romagna, Italy, broadened her horizons and also laid the foundation for what would become her own special brand of Italian food with a vibrant, flavor-perfect quality that Luongo has described as "the closest thing to Tuscan soul food." Calland continued her education in the industry working at such high-profile restaurants as Drovers Tap Room, Verbena, Lobster Club and Coco Pazzo in Philadelphia. In late 2000 she became the first American-born executive chef to take over at the 13-year-old Le Madri.

Calland, too, is a great communicator, and her articulate, down-to-earth media voice is one that's always a pleasure to hear, combining thoughtful observations, a passion for cooking and teaching and insights into the culinary profession Another passion, increased after taking a course at the American Sommelier Association, is wine, and she spends as much time as her schedule allows in pursuing it.

January, 2003