Private Chef ChicagoEvery profilePasquale Di Diana
A narrated journey through Rome, Naples and Puglia — ten courses if you want them, and the highest guest rating on this site.
Pasquale started in his family’s restaurant at twelve, later staged in Italy, and now cooks under his own concept — Trattoria Roma Napoli Bari — drawn from a lifetime of travel through Rome, Naples, the Amalfi Coast and Puglia. He has cooked on WGN and Fox Morning News, been named among the Top 100 Emerging International Italian Chefs, and counts the Golden State Warriors among his clients, but the thing guests actually write about is the talking. He introduces each dish as it lands: where it comes from, who cooked it that way, why it is on your table tonight. It works best on the long menus — several of the reviews here describe eight and ten courses built around the guests’ own history, wine pairings included, with extra plates quietly made for a kid with an allergy. His book runs from a wood-fired pizza party for a crowd up to a Feast of the Seven Fishes, and availability is genuinely limited.
Plates from recent dinners
What they cook
These are published menus with published prices, per guest. Any of them gets rebuilt around your table before the number is agreed.
Three dishes Pasquale is known for
- Paccheri alla Genovese — six-hour slow-cooked white beef ragù
- Whole branzino cleaned tableside
- Handmade cavatelli with vodka sauce and burrata
Booked more than anything for anniversaries and dinners built on a couple’s story, multi-course dinner parties, holiday and Christmas tables and pizza nights for a bigger crowd.
Travels to River North, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, West Loop, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, North Shore.
Left by the guests themselves
Ten courses for me and three girlfriends, and he and his staff went past every expectation. The best ingredients, and the stories behind each dish dazzled us. His real expertise is timing and balance. I will probably plan my next event around his availability.
I asked him to build a menu around the cuisines of our favourite holidays across fifteen years together. He took the idea and designed eight courses that told the story of our relationship, advised on the wine, and made separate dishes for our two children on top of it all.
My brother’s fiftieth. He took the time to understand the family and the space, then tailored the menu and the service to it. Responsive, gracious and professional at every step, and he had everyone from the youngest child to the grandparents enjoying themselves.
He and his team hosted our Christmas dinner — appetisers, pasta, fish, prime rib, sides and dessert, all of it beautifully done. Charming and engaging, and the team stayed attentive right through the evening.
The other two
- LaSandra Armstrong — Caribbean & Soul, Chicago & the lakeshore, from $156/head
- Alvin Yu — Pan-Asian, Chicago & south-west Michigan, from $150/head