Paul Bertolli
Fra' Mani Founder and Curemaster Paul Bertolli is known for his tenure as  
Chef of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California (1982-1992) and Chef
of Oliveto Restaurant in Oakland, California (1993-2005).

Active as a writer and teacher on culinary subjects, he also owns and
operates his own company, Agrodolce, Inc., which offers consulting services to
the wine, food and restaurant industries.  Paul is also the exclusive distributor
of artisan-made wine and vinegar casks for Francesco Renzi of Modena, Italy,
and maintains several private facilities dedicated to the production of Aceto
Balsamico Tradizionale.

In 1985 he was included in Esquire’s register of “Men and Women under 40
who are changing the nation” and chosen as an honoree in Who’s Who of
Cooking in America, a national award designed to pay tribute to 25 individuals
who are most directly involved in shaping, refining, and improving American
cuisine.  In 1988, Random House published his book Chez Panisse Cooking.
And in August of 2003, Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, published
Cooking by Hand, which contains a substantial chapter on cured meats.  
Cooking by Hand received an IACP (International Association of Culinary
Professionals) award, which recognizes excellence in cookbook writing.

Paul has also received rave reviews from national critics and has been
featured in almost every major culinary publication, including Gourmet, Saveur,
Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Sunset, GQ, New York Times, Wine Spectator, San
Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner Magazine, and Los Angeles Times
Magazine.

Awards include “Chef of the Year” by San Francisco Magazine in 1989, GQ’s
“Favorite Chef” and “Golden Dish” awards in 1996, Wine Spectator’s “Top
Italian Restaurants” in 1997.  In 2001, Paul received the prestigious James
Beard Foundation Restaurant Award for “Best Chef in California”.  And in 2005,
Paul was named as one of five nominees for the James Beard Foundation
Restaurant Award for “Outstanding Chef” (United States).

For the past 13 years Paul has been working to deepen his knowledge and
skill in the production of traditional Italian cured meats through frequent
sojourns to the production facilities of artisan producers in the Parma and
Modena area of Italy.  He recently completed a series of courses in Meat
Science and relevant aspects of cured meat production at Iowa State’s Meat
Science Laboratory.