Who

Pelaccio is the boy-wonder chef behind Fatty Crab as well as an ever-expanding galaxy of trendy restaurants in New York and beyond.

Backstory

Scarsdale native Pelaccio attended the University of Vermont and had early jobs at Drew Nieporent's Myriad Restaurant Group (as a purchasing agent), a food software company, and at the Food Network (as script writer/field producer) before turning to cooking himself. He eventually went to Asia and spent a year working at a restaurant in Kuala Lampur where he picked up the Malay culinary skills that have since become his signature. After returning to the States and enrolling at the French Culinary Institute, he cut his teeth at Daniel Boulud's Daniel, Thomas Keller's famed French Laundry in Napa Valley, and Rocco DiSpirito's Union Pacific. In 2003, Pelaccio arrived on the scene when he was installed as chef at the short-lived (but much-fawned-over) Chickenbone Café in Williamsburg; 5 Ninth, his fusion restaurant/club on Little West 12th Street, opened in the summer of 2004. Pelaccio followed up in September 2005 with the quirky Malaysian spot Fatty Crab.

Of note

Known for his weird ingredient pairings like watermelon with pork-belly salad, over the past few years Pelaccio has been milking his hot rep with an ever-lengthening list of increasingly dubious ventures. In 2006, he designed the Southeast Asian menu and "Malay carts" for Steven Greenberg's rooftop lounge 230 Fifth; in March 2007, Jeffrey Chodorow tapped Pelaccio to open a Fatty Crab-like restaurant in London called Suka. In June 2007, he severed his ties with 5 Ninth and teamed up with Chodorow once again to open Borough Food & Drink in the space that used to house the latter's infamous reality TV show prop, Rocco's. And in January 2008, Pelaccio opened the unfortunately-named Korean restaurant Chop Suey in Times Square. There's plenty more in the pipeline: With Chodorow and Rick Camac, one of the owners of 5 Ninth, he'll be opening another branch of Fatty Crab on the Upper West Side. He's also teamed up with 'cue guru Robbie Richter on a forthcoming barbecue joint in Williamsburg, Fatty 'Cue.

Personal

Pelaccio's wife, Ana, was born in Serbia (and inspired him to add some Balkan dishes to 5 Ninth's menu). They have a young son, Hudson, and live in Brooklyn.