Marco Canora

Marco Canora's appreciation for good food flourished as a child growing up in upstate New York. In the summer months, his mother’s harvest of herbs and vegetables served as the inspiration for dishes she enjoyed during her childhood in Lucca, Italy. Marco spent hours, and years, cooking alongside her.

Washing dishes at a well-respected local restaurant was Marco’s first glimpse into the restaurant industry. A quick study, he moved from pot-scrubber to garde manger. After graduating from Pace University, Marco landed at Dean and Deluca's prepared foods kitchen, where he discovered the vital role that high-quality produce plays in creating dishes. On a motorcycle trip around the country, Marco took time off the road to hone his culinary skills at Winston’s, a seafood restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, and then at San Francisco’s Backstage restaurant. Feeling the pull of home, Marco returned to New York City with a clear goal in mind: to work at one of the city's best restaurants.

As luck would have it, Gramercy Tavern was looking for line cooks and offered Marco a job. Chef/owner Tom Colicchio fostered the young chef’s career, encouraging Marco to travel to Italy. Marco moved to Florence, where he worked at Fabbio Picchi's world-renowned restaurant, Cibreo.

Wanting to open and run his own restaurant, Marco took two summers off from Gramercy Tavern to start La Cucina, a 50-seat seasonal restaurant in Edgartown, Massachusetts. La Cucina turned out to be an unprecedented success for Marco, earning him rave reviews and a bevy of high-profile guests including former President Bill Clinton, for whom Marco prepared a 50th birthday dinner.

When Marco returned to Gramercy Tavern, he was promoted to sous chef, and in 2001, Colicchio selected him to open Craft. The restaurant went on to receive three stars from The New York Times and the James Beard award for “Best New Restaurant.” While at Craft, Marco created the menu for Craftbar, Craft’s more casual sibling, and oversaw the opening of Craftsteak in Las Vegas.

In the fall of 2003, Marco decided to strike out on his own. He and partner Paul Grieco, a fellow Gramercy Tavern alum, opened Hearth in Manhattan’s then burgeoning East Village neighborhood. The restaurant earned a positive two-star review from The New York Times and a local following. Considered a downtown dining destination, Hearth offers a modern American menu influenced by Marco’s Italian heritage, along with an unparalleled selection of wine.

In April 2007, Marco and Paul opened Insieme at The Michelangelo Hotel. The Italian word for “together,” Insieme was awarded a Michelin star for its traditional and contemporary dishes. Marco offered classic Italian dishes deeply-rooted in history and family recipes, as well as contemporary dishes that present a modern approach to the cuisine of his heritage.

In 2008, Marco and Paul opened Terroir, a casual wine bar just steps away from Hearth that has earned a legion of fans for Marco's inspired menu and Paul's quirky wine list. They opened Terroir Tribeca, the second location of their East Village wine bar, which features a larger kitchen that allows Canora to expand on the original menu and showcase the full range of his talent. Terroir Park Slope, the first Brooklyn outpost of the wine bar, opened in 2012. Marco’s first cookbook, Salt to Taste, was released by Rodale in October 2009 and nominated in 2010 for the James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award in the General Cooking category.