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MARIO CAMIO
Appointed Executive Chef of Fontana, The Biltmore Hotel

Coral Gables, FL.—(July 2008)  Mario Camio has been appointed Executive Chef of the Fontana at The Biltmore Hotel.  Camio, age 62, was the executive chef responsible for impeccable Italian cuisine for the Masci brothers renowned Il Mulino and Il Gabbiano in Florida prior to joining The Biltmore in May, 2008.

Camio will work closely with Philippe Ruiz, Executive Chef de Cuisine for Biltmore Hotel.  Together they are creating an exciting new schedule of events that will include a Cooking School, Wine Dinners, and a Food & Wine themed Festival series for the upcoming year.

Born in the small town of Piemonte, Monforte d’Alba Italy, near Barolo, he grew up in his grandmother’s kitchen, and was making pastas and breads by the young age of 8.  After attending school at Baruffi in Mondovi, Italy, he made the restaurant hospitality business his life’s’ passion.  As an up and coming young chef Camio worked throughout Italy and the Caribbean and in America in such landmark restaurants as Barolo in New York and Il Bacio in Connecticut.

It was at Barolo Restaurant that Camio’s distinctive Piemontesa and Northern Italian style began to excel, attracting celebrity regulars Robert De Niro, Anthony Queen, Sharon Stone, Mario Puzo, Joaquin Almeida, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Shiffer and tennis star Navratilova. 

He has received awards for his distinctive cuisine from the far corners of the world as well as Japan’s Uno Magazine and TV Network. In March of 1998 he won the International Gastronomic Festival award in Mexico City celebrated at the Banker’s Club. Among the guests was the King of South Arabia. That year in New York Camio commemorated Guillermo Marconi’s 100th birthday by duplicating the same menu that they did in the 1800’s for the first transoceanic radio communication between New York and Australia. It as a star studded event in both New York and Australia.

Married with four children and grandchildren, Camio, a dedicated chef and warmly friendly man, longed for a restaurant he could settle into creating his own menu and ambience while developing friendships with his clientele.  When Biltmore’s Executive Chef de Cuisine Philippe Ruiz approached him with the idea of joining him at The Biltmore and heading Fontana, Camio saw an opportunity to shine.  Camio has been busy creating his own authentic Northern Cuisine menu and wine lists since coming on board in May and hopes to offer Coral Gables some of the best Italian fare ever.