Ralph Pagano leaves Gulfstream, brings French Italian to Sunny Isles' Solé on the Ocean

By Lesley Abravanel | Lank@aol.com8/2/2012

Solé on the Ocean has hired former Executive Vice President of Hospitality of Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino and ex Hell's Kitchen and Iron Chef America contestant Ralph Pagano as executive chef of its French Italian restaurant Alba. The restaurant, to debut in October, is going with a French Italian "seaside" concept, featuring raw bar and, yep, you guessed it, "farm-to-table, locally sourced ingredients and handcrafted signature drinks."

Pagano, who will also serve as Director of Food and Beverage of the Sunny Isles Beach property, has agreed to host a nationally televised cooking competition show produced by O2 Media that will debut early September 2012 on Lifetime Television Network.

“Solé on the Ocean’s beachfront address and the opportunity to reinvent Alba seduced me like a siren,” he said.