THEY MET IN ITALY: Michael White and his wife, Giovanna, purchased their two-bedroom penthouse perch in 2009. (Michael Sofronski)
IMOLA INFLUENCE: The art-filled walls of Michael White’s living and dining area include multiple pieces by Italian collagist Germano Sartelli. (Michael Sofronski)
His Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Camilla (Michael Sofronski)
“This is my little bit of Toscana,” chef Michael White says from his nearly 2,000-square-foot roof deck atop the Upper West Side condo he shares with his wife, Giovanna, and their 9-year-old daughter, Francesca.
The lemon-yellow walls bordering the outdoor space could be right out of a villa in Imola, Italy, where the Midwestern-born White met Giovanna and lived and worked for seven years — immersing himself in the history, culture and technique of the Italian food that would make him one of New York’s most lauded chefs.
The roof deck is where White, 41, has a mini-garden. “This is where I grow my tomatoes,” he says, pointing to a corner where he has heirloom plants. “This dirt is from Dan Barber of Stone Barns. We grow Sun Gold tomatoes.”
Downstairs, the couple’s spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse pad, also measuring around 2,000 square feet, features a large open kitchen that looks onto an oversized living and dining room. A long hallway leads to an alcove that’s part exercise room, part den.
“My wife uses it a lot more than I do,” White quips of the gym-strength elliptical machine that occupies one corner of the space.
The master bedroom is sparely decorated, but the real indulgence for White is in the adjoining bathroom. “This is the Michael White hammam over here,” the chef proudly says of his steam shower, which was a major selling point for him when they bought the condo in September 2009. “It gets up to about 130 degrees in here.”
Other sources of joy at home are similarly soothing. “After 12 hours on your feet and on the phone, it’s nice to sit down and relax,” White says. The living room includes a prized Ligne Roset Pluriel chair (“Sit in it,” he urges) and an oversized leather couch. There’s also a sleek entertainment system (with surround-sound speakers discreetly built into the walls) that was designed and installed by Clareo Networks, which also worked on White’s flagship restaurant, Marea.
“Truffles and blue jeans” is how White describes the comfortably high-end atmosphere of that seafood-focused Italian eatery. White, who grew up in Wisconsin, attributes the friendly service to Midwestern hospitality. The concept of the restaurant and the way White conceives of dishes came from his time abroad.
“Italian food is not only a cuisine, but a thought process as well. The simplicity. If Italians had okra, they would use it. It’s whatever is around them,” says the chef, whose NYC restaurants also include Ai Fiori, Osteria Morini and Nicoletta. This locavore idea drives Marea’s seasonal fish dishes and is central to the chef’s upcoming cookbook, of which he just turned in 200 pages to his publisher.
When it comes to dining at home, simplicity is key. White’s go-to place for take-out is the small Thai chain Wondee Siam — “It’s fantastic,” he says — and his Nespresso Lattissima Plus effortlessly delivers a perfect espresso via prepackaged servings. “You don’t get coffee culture until you go to a place like Italy,” he explains of his acquired love of the tiny caffeinated drink. “It’s kind of a ceremonious thing where you do it three, four, five times a day.”
Also acquired in Italy: an original Warhol print, “Ladies and Gentlemen,” which the artist made when he was in Mantua for an exhibition in 1975. “It’s part of a group of eight and signed by Warhol. There are 150 prints, and I was lucky enough to get one,” White says.
It hangs in the living room near pieces by Imola artist Germano Sartelli, whose work evokes Robert Rauschenberg’s collage style — even though he paints secluded in the countryside. “It’s really interesting to think that somebody out in the middle of nowhere who doesn’t know who Rauschenberg was, he’s doing this intuitively,” White says.
The living room is filled with sculptures purchased during White’s travels to places as far as Bali and Istanbul, but some of his favorites come from his native state: sculptures by Wisconsin artist Verne Shaffer, including one on the windowsill of two swans coming together.
Midwestern pride hasn’t diminished White’s global ambitions. He’s the co-owner of Altamarea Group, with seven restaurants worldwide and plans to open at least two more in New York this year. Two years ago he expanded his restaurant “empire” — “I don’t say empire, you guys say that,” he jokes — to Asia with the Hong Kong opening of Al Molo.
“I’m extremely passionate about the Asian travel I’ve done so far, from Malaysia to the hawker food of Singapore. America makes up just about 5 percent of the world’s population,” he points out. “Think of all that there is to see.”
Still, White can’t imagine living anywhere but New York: “Why would anyone leave here?”
MICHAEL WHITE’S
FAVORITE THINGS
* The Nespresso Lattissima Plus espresso maker
* The Ligne Roset Pluriel chair
* His Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Camilla
* The Viking six-burner range and convection oven
* The original Warhol print
* Sculptures by Wisconsin artist Verne Shaffer