Giorgio Rapicavoli estimates he has spent roughly 15 years—about half of his life—inside loud and busy kitchens. At age 14, he started as a busboy. It wasn’t long before he talked himself into a job in the kitchen instead. After high school, he enrolled at Johnson & Wales’ culinary school. Despite maintaining a nearly perfect
Read MoreThough David Hochfeld worked a variety of jobs over the years, including 10 years in the restaurant industry, a part of him was always stifled. “I was always an actor at heart,” Hochfeld says. “I was in every play in school.” Hochfeld didn’t find an outlet for his talent until he attended the Renaissance Festival
Read MoreBuild it once, build it right. That’s the mindset Chris Joerger, founder of Big Shot Rides, brings to his business. The Coconut Creek resident has developed a reputation as the go-to man for building and customizing anything with a motor. Joerger discovered his love for cars at an early age, growing up near the raceways
Read MoreAt Coconut Creek Elementary School, Christine Bazos doesn’t just teach first-graders about math, reading and social studies. She’s also a caretaker for the children growing up to become leaders. “We try to teach them, even at a very young age, to be the best person they can be—to help others, to not think of themselves
Read MoreWhen Leo Moleiro became Coconut Creek’s special events planner in June 2016, he was confident about what his job would entail. But something kept coming up. “When I first started working here, [everyone said], ‘Hey, you’d better get ready for the Butterfly Festival,’ ” Moleiro says. “I was like, ‘Well, it’s June. I’ve got eight
Read MoreMore than 20 years ago, Joan and Bob Nast often would visit local hospitals and pray for sick children. Though they saw many children recover and go on to lead happy lives, they also saw a lot of pain—pain they felt they could help alleviate in some way. “Bobby and I said to each other
Read MoreFirst on the Scene: Gianpiero and Karen Cangelosi opened Tarantella in 1992, inside a little barn on Saddle Club Road. They closed it in 2000 to become one of the first restaurants to open in the newly developed Weston Town Center, in November 2001. They’ve been serving the community there since. Artistic Decor: The artwork
Read MoreAccording to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 30,000 U.S. residents are living with the progressive, genetic disease that limits the ability to breathe due to a consistent buildup of mucus in the lungs. A half-century ago, the condition was an early death sentence for children, many of whom didn’t make it past elementary school.
Read MoreWally has been at the Sawgrass Nature Center and Wildlife Hospital since it began in 1995. Only after naming the alligator did the center realize it made a mistake. “We thought she was a he until she started laying eggs,” says executive director Allan Rose. “She is quite a celebrity.” The nonprofit organization, located in
Read MoreOn the days when she dons her traditional white chef’s coat, it can be said that Paula DaSilva wears her heart under her sleeves instead of on them. That’s because the Coconut Creek resident and chef de cuisine at Burlock Coast on Fort Lauderdale Beach has three (visible) tattoos on her arms that give glimpses
Read MoreOn an unseasonably cool September night, a 16-year-old girl with a Kewpie doll face, curly brown locks and hazel eyes sat in the kitchen of her mother’s spacious single-family home inside a gated community in western Broward County. After finishing her math homework, Chloe grabbed a snack out of the stainless-steel refrigerator, quietly packed her
Read MoreFriday, Feb. 2: *Groundhog Day* Tickets on sale: South Beach Wine and Food Festival The 17th annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) returns to EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. Sample exquisite food prepared by your favorite chefs, local and celebrity. Proceeds from the Festival benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality
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