Marcelo Gallegos
Vivere in the Italian Village
71 W. Monroe St.
312.332.4040
Northern Italian Fine Dining
Several years ago, Marcelo Gallegos' exceedingly ambitious goal was to
become an executive chef before he was 30. At 29, Gallegos was named executive chef for the showcase
in the Italian Village, Vivere, which is ranked one of America's "10 Best Italian Restaurant" by
Wine Spectator Magzine.
A Chicago native, he attended Gordon Tech High School, then studied cooking at Kendall College in Evantston. Later, he worked under chef Paul Bartolotta at Spiaggia and at Tuttaposto under Tony Mantuano, who strongly suggested he learn more about cooking in Italy. The result was a two-year stint at several country restaurants from Tuscany to Lombardia.
“They taught me how to make wine
and cure meat," he recalls. "They also said don't make things complicated. Make a tomato taste like
a tomato. Don't start throwing in 30 condiments like a lot of chefs here do.”
Returning to Chicago in 1996, Gallegos was hired as executive chef at Vivere,
where signature dishes include braised whole rabbit and wild boar.
“We pay attention to the customer, and everything that's going out of the kitchen,” he says. ”We want your experience here to be an enchanted evening. I'm so flattered
I work in Chicago, which is such a culinary melting pot. When people ask me where they can dine, I can
name a million places.”