Dana Klitzberg has the unique capacity to view food, travel, and culture from two very different perspectives. The first is that of a professional: a chef-entrepreneur and seasoned traveler in the (food) world. The other is the flip side: as a perpetual student of history and culture, a curious adventurer, and a lover of all things gastronomic, aesthetic, and enriching - for the mind, the heart, and the belly.
Dana received a B.A. in English Literature and Writing from the University of Virginia. Her first career was a turn as a successful publicist in fashion, entertainment, and luxury goods, where she forged her interest in event planning and working with the food and entertainment media for clients like Badgley Mischka, Wonderbra, Moet & Chandon, Louis Vuitton, Ruffino wines, and Dom Perignon.
When Dana decided to shift gears, she headed to culinary school at the Institute of Culinary Education (Peter Kump's at the time), where she received her professional culinary degree, followed by a yearlong stint at renowned restaurant San Domenico NY. She then returned to Rome, where she cooked her way up the line to become the first - and possibly only, to date - female American executive chef to helm a restaurant kitchen in Italy. Twice. When Dana wasn't behind the burners, cooking for private clients, catering film and television industry events, teaching cooking classes, or giving culinary tours (another first as the only English-speaking professional to give such tours and cooking classes in Rome at the time), she was writing about food, drink, culture, and travel for various publications and guidebooks. These included Time Out guides and a 12-year stint as the dining editor and reviewer for Fodor's guides to Italy and Rome.
Eventually Dana shifted the bulk of her work life back to New York City, where she is based today, though she still spends several months a year traveling back to Italy and beyond, always inspired by the familiar (the bel paese and the Mediterranean) and the new (everywhere else). Dana loves roaming and haggling in a bustling market/shuk/mercado/bazaar/medina, soaking in amazing beaches and any whitewashed towns that overlook them, and dancing the night away to live music. She will travel around the world for a memorable meal, a gorgeous aperitivo with a view, or any delicious dish containing eggplant and/or chocolate.