Anthony Ricco always cooked, and always knew that was the career he wanted. In high school, he occasionally missed class to cook for his friends. He worked as a machine shop apprentice and in construction after high school, and spent a couple of semesters taking hospitality classes at New York City College of Technology. That didn't quite work out for him, because he had to take too many classes that were not related to his passion. Instead, he went on to work as a prep cook at China Grill. His brother advised him to give culinary school another shot, and since Ricco is 100 pounds lighter than his brother, he felt he had to listen, he said, laughing. Ricco graduated from ICE in 2001. He then worked at a restaurant in Long Island City, before going to Jean Georges, where he worked for three years, spending time at every station in both the casual and the fine-dining parts of the restaurant. He then received an offer to become sous-chef at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Spice Market restaurant. Nine months later, the chef left, the executive sous-chef took over, and Ricco rose to his current position of executive sous-chef. He enjoys the high volume of the restaurant's operations, which can top 700 covers a night on weekends. "When you work for Jean-Georges, everything is quality, no matter how high the volume is," he said. "Nothing leaves the kitchen if it's not 100 percent perfect. That's probably my favorite part of the job."

Ricco was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he still lives. As a kid, he watched his grandmother prepare Italian dishes with great ease, and aimed to do the same. As a kid, he would wake up before the rest of his family and make breakfast for everyone. He cooks a lot on his days off, and says that cooking keeps him focused. He plans on traveling to Southeast Asia to learn more about the cuisine he prepares every day, and on spending some time in Italy as well.