A rare combination of skills make Laura Pensiero a unique restaurateur. A registered dietitian, cookbook author, and French Culinary Institute graduate, she has extensive experience in both food and health services. Throughout her career Laura has worked closely with chefs, the food and publishing industries and health institutions to "help people eat healthily and above all, happily." In the May 2005 5th Anniversary issue of "O" Oprah Magazine, she was selected among the 5 most "Gifted and Giving" food professionals.

In creating Gigi Trattoria, Laura worked with the designers, architects, and contractors to create both a beautiful restaurant and a comfortable space for guests. On any given night at "Gigi," it is easy to find Laura in the restaurant, greeting new guests and chatting with the "regulars," many of whom enjoy the consistently delicious "Hudson Valley Mediterranean" cooking of Chef Wilson Costa a few nights a week.

Laura Pensiero, Chef/Owner

As the owner and creative force behind Gigi Hudson Valley (Gigi Trattoria, Gigi Market & Café, and Gigi Catering), Laura works with her talented team to provide a bountiful Hudson Valley roadmap to delicious and healthful eating, Mediterranean style!

Laura is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute, registered dietitian and writer. She co-authored The Strang Cancer Prevention Center Cookbook (McGraw-Hill 2004; Dutton 1998). Her upcoming book, Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook, will be published by HarperCollins in September 2009. Laura contributes to numerous national consumer and trade magazines, sharing her flavorful and practical approach to wholesome and healthy eating.

Laura is the chef and partner of Just Salad, a collection of five healthy “fast food” salad restaurants in NYC. The May 2005, 5th Anniversary Issue of O, Oprah Magazine, named Laura among the ‘Five Most Giving and Gifted Food Professionals’ for her work as a nutrition and culinary educator. She is committed to supporting other area businesses and the local economy via Gigi Hudson Valley purchases and through her work in writing and education.

Businesses

• Owner of  Gigi Hudson Valley which supports local and sustainable foods and is comprised of approximately 50 employees within the following businesses:

- Gigi Market –opened in 2006, an indoor farmer’s market and café located on a 500-acre working farm in Red Hook.

-Gigi Trattoria-opened in 2001, this award-winning restaurant is busier (and better) than ever. One of the first restaurants in the Hudson Valley to source the bulk of its ingredients from local suppliers.

-Gigi Catering: full service caterers in the Hudson Valley. Offering rustic/elegant seasonal and local flavors onsite and off-premise. Exclusive caterers to Vassar College’s Alumnae House.

• Partner/Chef in Just Salad, a collection of 5 outlets in New York City and 1 in Hong Kong. Laura developed the menu and recipes and oversees the quality of these healthy, fast-food eateries.

Author

• Hudson Valley Mediterranean: The Gigi Good Food Cookbook (HarperCollins 2009)

• Strang Cancer Prevention Center Cookbook (McGraw Hill 2004, Dutton 1998)

• A Writer and Frequent contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine, Prevention, Today’s Diet and Nutrition, Figure  and Shape magazines. Articles also have appeared in Fitness Magazine, Real Simple, and Your Way.

• Contributed to numerous books such as: The French Culinary Institute’s Salute to Healthy Cooking: from America’s Foremost French Chef’s, Jacques Pepin Kitchen, The American Harvest and The Da Fiore Cookbook. Contributed to Healing Foods for Dummies, The Healthy Heart Cookbook for Dummies, Slow Cookers for Dummies, Mexican Cooking for Dummies  and Italian Cooking for Dummies. Nutritional Consultation for the best selling  book French Women Don’t Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mirielle Guiliano (Knopf).

Consultant/Spokesperson

• Strang Cancer Prevention Center.

• Nutrition consultant and a board member to Healthy Children/Healthy Futures-a program to promote healthful eating and exercise to children.

• Sustainable Table

• Developed the nutrition curriculum for the French Culinary Institute & The Culinary Institute of America

• Nutrition/Culinary Spokesperson: Laura’s expertise has been tapped by both for-profit and non-profit entities, such as Tri-Lamb (a collaboration between Australia, New Zealand and U.S.), the National Peanut Board, and the National Pork Board.

Board appointments/memberships

• Board member of Vaughan’s Foods/Allison’s Gourmet Kitchens, a publicly traded company. The business model of this Oklahoma-based company encompasses a “regional” concept, which puts them close to the customer with a wide, but interrelated range of fresh food products – value-added vegetables, refrigerated deli salads, soups and stews, sauces, sandwiches, and fruit. Customers include food service and retail grocery.

• Board member of Wilderstein (a Hudson Valley conservancy organization). Works with fund-raising committee.

• Board member of Dutchess County Tourism.

• Advisor on the Board of Today’s Diet and nutrition.

• Member of the Hudson Valley Slow Food Group.

• Member of the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs

• Member of Chef’s Collaborative

Nominations & Awards

• Dutchess County Economic Development Award – Agriculture (Gigi Market at Greig Farm), 2008

• Nominated Outstanding Alumni French Culinary Institute, 2007 & 2008

• Best Restaurant & Best Italian Restaurant – Hudson Valley Magazine, 2007

• Named one of the five “amazingly gifted and giving food professionals” by The Oprah Magazine, May 2005

Experience in Clinical Nutrition

• Has worked in the capacity of registered dietitian at the following institutions:

- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Prevention and Wellness Center, NY, NY

- NY Presbyterian, NY, NY

- Cornell Medical College, NY, NY

- Strang Cancer Prevention Center, NY, NY

- Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, NY