Meet Chef Philip DiVirgilio, Kitchen Superstar

Chef Phil’s Love for food began at a very young age. Growing up in a large Italian family, evenings and holidays were spent sharing food and entertaining. Even as a young kid, he could be found helping out in the kitchen. He got his first job as a busboy at the local family restaurant in Middlebury, Connecticut at 15 years old. He knew from his first night there this was his calling. The controlled chaos of a dinner service was an adrenaline rush. Chef Phil knew he wanted to pursue a degree in the culinary world.

He attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Receiving an Associate’s Degree in Baking & Pastry Arts as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Restaurant/Hospitality Management, graduating Sigma Cum Laude. Working through high school and college, Chef Phil acquired years of experience in the industry before graduating in 2003. After graduating, Chef Phil was recruited by Restaurant Associates, a division of Compass Group in New York City, the nation’s premiere on-site dining management company.

Chef Phil began with RA as an Assistant Cafe Manager, working his way up to become Director of FoodService at Nomura Securities in 2005. During this time, he also helped operate and open a number of RA accounts, including The Trustees Dining Room at Columbia University, Clifford Chance LLP, and Google’s NYC headquarters. He remained there until he moved to South Florida in 2007. He stayed with Compass Group in South Florida, helped open, and then ran The Breakers Employee Cafe until 2009.

In 2010 Chef Phil began working at Rockstar Catering + Event Co, a full-service catering and event planning company serving South Florida and beyond, as Chef de Cuisine. In 2013 Chef Phil was placed by Rockstar as a private chef for a Family in Manalapan, FL. He remained there, through Rockstar Catering, until 2018, when he was recruited by the family to be directly employed by them. He remained with the same family until 2021. In 2022 Chef Phil opened The Chef’s Table Palm Beach Corp., offering Private Chef Services, Cooking/Chocolate Classes, and Custom Chocolates to all of South Florida.