A native New Yorker, Dominick DiBartolomeo was raised in an environment rich with an appreciation for great food, past down through generations of old family recipes. It was here where the seeds for his love of food were planted, but it took several years and many different directions for those seeds to cultivate into the career that it has become today.
An interest in music brought Dominick to Los Angeles in 1996 where he attended the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Looking for something more practical than music, Dominick changed his major to pre-med Psychology with a focus on Neuroscience. As a pre-med Psychology major, Dominick not only made the Dean’s List, but also was granted membership into the National Honor Society for Psychology students, Psi-Chi. He also was granted membership into the prestigious National Society for Collegiate Scholars.
After earning a Bachelors Degree in Psychology at USC, Dominick enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Doctorate degree in medicine. Even though he was excelling in his school work while attending UNLV, Dominick could not ignore his heritage of growing up in an Italian household where his love for fine food was born.
Dominick’s love for fine food led him back to Los Angeles where he found work at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills. It was here where Dominick’s true talents blossomed. Shortly after starting work, Dominick introduced his family’s recipe for sun dried tomatoes to owner, Norbert Wabnig and the rest of the Cheese Store staff. Their reaction was overwhelming. Norbert immediately began selling Dominick’s sun dried tomatoes from the store. This was the birth of Dominick’s company, Domenico’s Artisanal Foods.
Initially, Dominick started out with only a few pounds of sun dried tomatoes to sell, but after a short time, the orders began to mount. In less then a year after introducing the sun dried tomatoes to the staff at the Cheese Store, Dominick began receiving orders from major restaurants and hotels nationwide. Dominick’s current clients include, The Bellagio Hotel and Casino, The Venetian Hotel and Casino, Wynn Resort, Park Place Entertainment, Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Michael Mina, Nic’s Martini Lounge, Spago, Daniel Boulud, Reese Restaurant Group, Guy Savoie, Lawry’s Restaurant Group, Drago Restaurants, Inc., and many others.
Dominick’s expertise in food does not end with his sun dried tomatoes. Dominick’s product line is constantly evolving with the seasons. Some of the more recent additions to his product line include stuffed peppers, pestos, sauces, jams, marinades, fresh tapenades, and several others.
In addition to working at the Cheese Store, Dominick consults and maintains relationships with some of the top food purveyors, restaurants and chefs in the world. He visits both national and international trade shows and is continually creating and searching for new and interesting products.
When Dominick is not working on a new recipe, consulting or working at the Cheese Store, he enjoys playing the guitar, cooking and eating delicious food and drinking fine wine with family and friends.
