With a lifelong passion for cooking, New York native Antonia Lofaso has mastered balancing a demanding career as an executive chef, restaurant owner and television personality with being a single mother. Ahead, learn more about the Food Network chef.

History and Background

Antonia was born on Long Island, New York, and moved to Northridge, Los Angeles, in California with her family when she was 8 years old. “Cooking in my house was mandatory. It was how we showed our love and compassion for each other,” Antonia said during an interview in 2021.

Antonia's mother and grandmother worked as waitresses in Los Angeles diners and, later, her family opened their own diner in Beverly Hills. They named it Fred’s of New York after her father. Growing up, Antonia made corn dogs at Hot Dog on a Stick in the Sherman Oaks Galleria and later worked at a Chinese restaurant chain called Chin Chin.

During college, she was a server and hostess at various New York City-based restaurants. After graduating from the distinguished French Culinary Institute, Antonia apprenticed under culinary legends. “Right out of school, I was like, I want to work for the biggest and the best in Los Angeles," she told Yahoo Life. "And that was Wolfgang Puck at Spago. I spent about 10 years there just honing every skill I could possibly imagine.” It was at Spago that Antonia worked alongside well-known executive chefs such as Lee Hefter, Ari Rosenson and David McIntyre.

Antonia's Foray Into Television

In 2008, Antonia began her television career as a contestant on Season 4 of Bravo’s Top Chef: Chicago, finishing in fourth place. She later competed on Top Chef: All-Stars, coming in third place, and appeared on the Game Show Network’s Beat the Chefs, where she was one of three professional chefs competing against amateur chef contestants. She also appeared as a competitor on HGTV's Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

Antonia's Food Network Shows

From 2013 to 2017, Antonia was a judge on Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen. In 2015, she competed on Food Network’s Chopped. She has been featured on many other Food Network shows, including: Guy’s Grocery Games, Restaurant Hustle 2020: All on the Line, Restaurant Hustle 2021: Back in Business, Selena + Chef, Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime, The Julia Child Challenge, Beachside Brawl, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Supermarket Stakeout, Worst Cooks in America and Tournament of Champions. Antonia has also appeared on Amazon Prime’s Man vs. Child: Chef Showdown, ABC’s The Real O’Neals, CNBC’s Restaurant Startup and HGTV’s Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge.

Antonia, the Author

In 2012, Antonia released The Busy Mom’s Cookbook: 100 Recipes for Quick, Delicious, Home-Cooked Meals, which features easy-to-follow recipes including chicken and dumpling soup, meatballs and biscuits, along with brown-bag lunch ideas like BBQ chicken pita pockets. In her book, Antonia discusses the challenges and lessons she's learned from being a working mother.

Fun Facts About Antonia

• Birthday: November 23
• Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
• Height: 5'10"
• Nickname: The Warrior Princess
• Ancestry: Italian and Jewish
• Favorite late-night snack: chips and salsa
• Hobbies: Working out is a huge part of Antonia’s life.
• Trivia: Antonia appeared on an episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette when her trainer, Ben Smith, was a contestant.
• Current residence: Los Angeles, California. In 2024, Antonia told Forbes she was moving into a new home in Nevada.

What Is Antonia's Cooking Style?

Antonia notes on her website, "I believe in simple food from the heart that is well executed and that people crave daily" — which reflects the menus of her many California-based restaurants.

Antonia's Restaurants

Antonia is the executive chef and co-owner of the eclectic American Black Market Liquor Bar in Studio City, the old-school Italian Scopa Italian Roots in Venice and the Latin-inspired DAMA in downtown Los Angeles. She is also a partner at gastropub The Local Peasant in Woodland Hills and cocktail bar The Chestnut Club in Santa Monica. Antonia also has a catering business that provides options for seated dinners, cocktail parties and personalized meals.

Antonia’s Family History

Besides her parents, Antonia has two brothers. Dominick, the owner of an L.A. boxing gym, appeared with her on Guy’s Grocery Games. She's been romantically linked with rapper and record producer Dwight Arrington Myers, also known as Heavy D. In 2000, they had a daughter named Xea. In 2011, Heavy D collapsed outside of his Beverly Hills home and died in the hospital not long after due to a pulmonary embolism, leaving Antonia to raise Xea as a single mother. Antonia has spoken about missing out on a lot when Xea was young due to work commitments, including swim meets and teacher conferences. But in 2021, Xea told The Table, “I see this beautiful life that we live together now, all the things I’m able to have because of the hard work that she’s put into it. I am extremely proud of who my mom has become over the years.”

Antonia’s Partnerships

Antonia is an advocate for CARE, an organization that fights global poverty and world hunger. She's also raised money for the Jacques Pépin Foundation, which supports community-based kitchens, and has volunteered for Feeding America and St. Francis Center Los Angeles. Her chef-inspired clothing line, Chefletics, blends style with function. On her website, Antonia describes her line as: “We’ve redesigned classic chef attire with modern styles, the highest quality of fabrics … I found myself, along with other chefs struggling with wanting to maintain a professional appearance, while needing apparel that allowed versatile mobility and functionality.” Her fabrics include a patent-pending moisture-wicking and stain-resistance technology called ChefDry. Antonia created a limited-edition menu for Paradisus by Meliá resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and has worked on culinary collaborations with the NBA. She also participates in food festivals, such as Autentico in Aruba, that celebrate the area’s culinary scene.

Keep Up With Antonia

Follow Antonia on Instagram at @chefantonia.