Steve Mannino

Steve Mannino brings an innovative brand of cooking that is fun and approachable. Using local ingredients as much as possible, Mannino cleverly creates dishes that evoke American Regional with some twists on the European classics. Mannino’s style ignores fussy trends in favor of bold, soulful and often surprisingly simple plates. Growing up in Upstate NY in a large Italian American household where family meals were the most important part of the day.

A graduate of The Culinary program at Schenectady Community College & then the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Mannino began his career under the direction of Chef David Burke at the Park Avenue Café in New York. He went on to open a branch of that brand in Chicago while also training in the classic French tradition at critically acclaimed Les Nomades, and for Lettuce Entertain you at Fodlife. He then ventured on to San Francisco to work at the Savoy under chef Farice Canelle He then had multiple roles with Todd English in Boston, DC and Las Vegas.

Looking to get Back to the east coast Mannino then held roles with Thompson Hospitality focusing on concepts development and openings, The Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Stephen Starr and Starr Restaurants, where he was responsible for opening both Buddakan and The Continental in Atlantic City. Wanting to raise his growing family he spent eight years working with DC Based CGD Hospitality, assisting them in developing systems to improve all back of house operations through the personal development of team members while rolling out successful to – go and boxed meal initiatives during the pandemic. He oversaw the brand’s franchise efforts with Concessions International and helped drive revenue across multiple concepts.
During his culinary career he has provided consulting services working for clients such as the Foo Fighters, 9:30 Club & Anthem in Washington, DC, Fox Restaurant Group in Scottsdale, Arizona and Ridgewell’s Major Events where he worked as a consulting chef for seven US Opens (golf).

Most recently, Mannino spent the year assisting Todd English Hospitality and Lagardere Travel Retail with the launch of the Todd English Global Pub and Market, Abu Dhabi Airport in his role as VP of Culinary Operations for Todd English Hospitality. This role gave Mannino the chance to revisit major event planning as he was responsible for strategic planning and execution of Culinary Kick Offs at Formula 1 Miami and Las Vegas with the Delisle Group.

Chef Steve launches Leverage Hospitality with the aid of Kelley Jones and Todd Parmelee whom he has shared 20+ years of professional and personal experience. Mannino brings a wealth of culinary knowledge and team-driven operations experience and his skills as a proven project manager and culinary leader to the executive team.

Mannino lives in the Washington, DC suburbs with his wife Debbi of twenty plus years, their two sons Sonny & Frankie, and their dogs, Carrots and Hunter.

“You don’t have to be hungry to eat”
Nana Mannino