Damiano Carrara

Damiano Carrara (https://www.damianocarrara.com) was born in Lucca, Tuscany, on September 22, 1985 to a construction worker father and a mother employed by a postal and financial services company. He has a younger brother, Massimiliano, who is also a pastry chef. Damiano took his first steps in the restaurant business as a bartender before moving to Ireland at the age of 19.  He worked there for about two years then moved back to Italy for a short period of time, before realizing he wanted more from life so he decided to go to the States. In 2008 he settled in California, just outside Los Angeles area, where, after a few years of work as a manager in various restaurants, together with his brother Massimiliano he opened Carrara's pastry shop in Moorpark, Ventura County (CA) (https: // www.carraras. com). Shortly afterwards, a second location not far away is added, in Agoura Hills in the city of Los Angeles . Subsequently, the great success of the two pastry shops leads Damiano to expand the Moorpark location, also adding not just desserts but a full food menu. In 2020 the third business opened, in Pasadena. During these years Damiano also created his own import-export company, in order to bring the products for his pastry shops from Italy and maintain the best standards for his stores, and he became an American citizen. Also at the same time, he centralized production and opened a manufacturing company to serve as a main kitchen to then deliver to all 3 locations. To date, his activities are growing and he currently has more than 80 employees.

In 2015 he participated as a competitor in the first season of the talent show Spring Baking Championship, broadcast on the US channel Food Network, finishing second, and then continued with his career as a cooking show competitor in 2016. He is then a finalist in season 12 of Food Network Star . He later becomes judge of the second season of the Halloween Baking Championship and the new season of the Spring Baking Championship. In 2017 he was contacted by the television production company Magnolia in Italy and became one of the new judge of Bake Off Italia - Dolci in forno and its spin-offs, alongside Benedetta Parodi, Ernst Knam and Clelia d'Onofrio on the Real Time television network (discovery channel). Back in Italy, since the beginning of 2018 he co host “Cake Star” - Pastry shops challenging each other for a prize alongside Katia Follesa (actor and comedian). Since 2019, in parallel with the programs started in previous years, he has been the host of “ Recipes of a dreamer” on the Food Network channel. In 2020 he participates as judge of the special Bake Off Italia - All Stars Battle and leads the new season of Fuori menu; in 2021 he leads "Tarabaralla" and continues to be the judge of Bake Off Italia. He has several recipe books to his credit, “Dolce Italia” and “A Taste of Italy” in the US. In Italy he begins with the autobiography “In life everything is possible”, published by HarperCollins Italia. In 2020, "Un po’ più dolce "was published, the first recipe book published in Italy, and subsequently" Ancora più dolce"with Italian regional desserts and their versions reinterpreted in a modern key.

In October 2021 he decides to open his first pastry shop in Italy, returning to his hometown of Lucca: L'Atelier Damiano Carrara (https://www.atelierdamianocarrara.com). Here the Chef offers a modern and creative pastry shop, with an exclusively gluten free and many lactose free products, using special techniques in an exclusive and elegant setting, choosing to put first his creations and his professionalism with cakes, single portions, pralines and chocolate creations.

To date, Damiano embodies many characteristics at a professional level: he is a pastry chef with amazing knowledge on the subject but also an experienced entrepreneur, he has Italian and American citizenship, he has considerable experience on the American market as well as on the Italian one. He knows really well the needs of customers and the production of confectionery and chocolate. His social profiles have an important following (more than 1.3 million followers just on instagram, 830.000 on facebook, 305.000 on Tik Tok), and he is characterized by the constant desire to get involved, and to always be able to improve any situation that may arise in front of him, always looking for new challenges and new dreams to come true.