Lady Gaga's Parents Open New Restaurant With Oprah's Personal Chef
Lady Gaga's parents will open a new Italian restaurant in New York City, on February 1 with Oprah's own former personal chef. The iconic singer made her first appearance at the restaurant New Year's Eve.
Stafani and Joe Germanotta are now accepting reservations at their Upper West side restaurant "Joanne Trattoria" near Central Park. The restaurant, which will boast a Southern Italian food selection, is also likely to add Mr. Germanotta's Papa G chicken to the menu according to The New York Times.
Although some reports have suggested that Lady Gaga has played a large role in financing the restaurant, she is not an owner. Mr. Germanotta told the Times that the family has afforded the restaurant outside of Gaga's financial success.
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Charles Arthur Smith has been announced as Joanne Trattoria's new chef. Smith has been the chef to former Florida governor Bob Graham and Jeb Bush and until 2007 was personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. He still edits a monthly article at Oprah.com and is sometimes a contributing writer. He also founded A. Smith & Co. Productions, which has produced popular shows like "Hells Kitchen."
His specialty also being Southern Italian cuisine, Smith is the current owner of Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, which debuted at the end of 2011 in Atlanta. Yesterday the chef celebrated his first article in The New York Times, "My first article in The New York Times today. Thank you Matt for the great story," he tweeted.
He also counted the days to the opening of the new restaurant. "The days are getting closer with the opening of Joanne. Cooked tonight for Dorothy Hamilton," he said. Dorothy Hamilton is the founder and CEO of The French Culinary Institute. She has been referred to as the modern day Julia Child. She is possibly one of the first guests to enjoy dinner at Joanne's Trattoria.
Although Lady Gaga has played a large role in drawing attention to the new restaurant by bringing it massive publicity, her parents are still unsure about the role they want their daughter to play in the new family business.
"She just generates a lot of sizzle," Mr. Germanotta told The New York Times. Lady Gaga's attendance at the restaurant's New Year's Eve party drew a massive amount of attention. Still her parents fear that such wide spread fame will compromise the low key atmosphere of the restaurant. "One tweet," Mrs. Germanotta told the Times, "and it's over."
