Carla Pellegrino

Carla Pellegrino started her career in cooking for her mother’s catering business in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the age of 10, and learned to prepare traditional Brazilian, Italian and Portuguese cuisine. At age 16, Pellegrino moved to Liguria, Italy, where she owned a small store that incorporated her passion for cooking with cooking demonstrations daily. By 1997, she moved to the United States to attend the French Culinary Institute in New York City. She opened Baldoria Restaurant in New York City on Eighth Avenue and Broadway in New York with Frank Pellegrino Jr. in 2000. At the end of 2006, a dream became a reality when Pellegrino led the culinary team as the executive chef to open Rao’s Las Vegas at Caesars Palace. She took 10 of the original recipes from the legendary Italian restaurant in East Harlem, added her own traditional North Italian cuisine and built a high-volume menu concept. Her newest restaurant, Bacio by Carla Pellegrino at the Tropicana, spotlights authentic Italian recipes with a focus on fresh and high-quality ingredients. She also opened Bratalian in Henderson with her sister, a homey restaurant that blends Italian and Brazilian cuisines with a decor reminescent of the quaint streets of Nice, Italy.