Giuseppe Naccarelli was born and raised in the mountain village of Palombaro, in the region of Abruzzo. When not racing through the village and playing soccer with friends as a child, Giuseppe was laying the groundwork for his future career as a Chef by helping his family with harvesting and preparing food.
His passion for cooking blossomed at culinary school in Roccarasso, Abruzzo at the Istituto Professionale Alberghiero di Stato where he spent five years learning all aspects of the restaurant and hotel industries. While attending school he had opportunities to work at many of Italy’s finest restaurants during summers and school holidays.
Giuseppe’s ambition led him to open a small bar and Trattoria in Guardiagrele. His successful establishment quickly became a favorite with locals, and his reputation traveled well beyond the city limits of Guardiagrele.
After four great years in Guardiagrele, Giuseppe felt the urge to travel and see more of the world. After selling his locale, he flew to Los Angeles to begin his journey around the world. He met his future wife, Christine, shortly after arriving in Los Angeles; and his journey around the world never went beyond California. While in Los Angeles, Giuseppe worked in many of the city’s finest Italian restaurants. Giuseppe joined Il Fornaio in 1994 where he had tremendous opportunity to grow and develop professionally, ending his 19 year career with Il Fornaio as the Vice President of Kitchen Operations.
Christine Naish Naccarelli grew up in Kailua on the island of O’ahu. While her family found their passion in watersports, Christine spent most of her youth in the ballet studio. She left Punahou School to finish her last two years of high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts where she received world-class ballet training. Christine was a student at UCLA (where she received her B.A. in Sociology) when she met Giuseppe. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Alameda Civic Ballet and performed in their annual Nutcracker production at Kofman Auditorium prior to opening Trabocco.
Giuseppe and Christine made Alameda their home in 1999. Daughter, Erynn and son, Nico both attended Otis Elementary and Lincoln Middle School. Erynn, an Alameda High School graduate is studied Chemical Engineering at University of Southern California (USC) and is completing a Masters in Material Science at the University of Texas, Austin. Nico spent a year in Italy after graduating from Alameda High School and is currently attending community college while working as one of our bartenders. The entire family is thrilled to bring great Italian food to their beautiful hometown!