Early life Stratta is a fourth-generation
hotelier born to parents from locales well known for their
culinary traditions; his
Italian father is from the
Piedmont region, and his French mother from
Nice along the
Côte d'Azur. As his father was president of
Princess Hotels & Resorts, he spent much of his early life living in luxurious
resorts in countries all over the world, including Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, France, Mexico, and Pakistan; this upbringing helped him become fluent in French,
Italian, Spanish, and English. Stratta attended the
California Culinary Academy in
San Francisco, California and graduated with honors in 1983.
As executive chef In 1989, Stratta took on the executive chef position at Mary Elaine's restaurant at The Phoenician
resort in
Scottsdale, Arizona. While there, he was featured in
Food & Wine Magazine as one of "America's Ten Best New Chefs". Under his tenure, the restaurant earned a 4-star rating from the
Mobil Travel Guide In 1998, Stratta became executive chef of the Renoir restaurant at
The Mirage in
Las Vegas after being invited by
Steve Wynn. it received ratings of 5 stars from the
Mobil Travel Guide, 5 diamonds from the
AAA Restaurant Ratings, and 2 stars from the
Michelin Guide. In 2025, he joined Belmont Kitchen & Cocktails in
Scottsdale, Arizona as executive chef.
Television In 2001, Stratta was chosen as Iron Chef Italian on the now-defunct television show
Iron Chef USA, where he was nicknamed the "Italian
Scallion". Although he describes himself as "not that competitive", Stratta decided to appear on the show because he is a fan of the original
Iron Chef show from Japan. He was eliminated during the sixth episode, placing seventh in the competition. ==Awards==