Some chefs move to Pittsburgh. Janine Falvo moves back. She grew up on the North Side, as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted when Bravo cast her on “Top Chef” in 2011, and has spent most of her working life cooking in other people’s cities. Now Fairmont Pittsburgh has named her executive chef. The job puts her in charge of fl.2, the hotel’s modern American restaurant and bar, and of the private dinners, meetings, and weddings that fill its event rooms.
Meet Chef Janine Falvo, the New Executive Chef at Fairmont Pittsburgh’s Fl. 2
Like all of us, Falvo’s food memories began in childhood. She grew up in a traditional Italian family where culinary traditions included canning tomatoes, making sausage, and soppressata in the winter, and preparing endless cookie tables.
The Long Way Around
Falvo trained close to home, finishing at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute downtown in 1998, according to a profile in FoodService Director. Her first post was on the line at Spoodles, a Walt Disney World restaurant that feeds crowds from open to close. The chef who ran it took her along when he moved on to Molive in Chicago. California came next: executive sous chef under Bradley Ogden at Parcel 104 in Santa Clara, then chef of Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar in Sonoma, where the San Francisco Chronicle’s longtime critic Michael Bauer reviewed her cooking with enthusiasm.
Recognition followed. Restaurant Hospitality named her a Rising Star Chef in 2007. In 2010 she cooked on Sonoma’s behalf at the James Beard House in New York, and Food Arts included her in its biannual menu preview. When “Top Chef” called, she was running the kitchen at the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel and its restaurant, Briza, which built its menus around nearby growers. A turn on Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” came in 2015.
She has been cooking in Western PA again for several years. From 2020 to 2025 she led the kitchen at the 1781 Club in Peters Township, where local golfers voted its grill room and bar the best in the region in the inaugural Western Pennsylvania Golf Choice Awards in 2024.
Setting the Table Downtown
In the hotel’s announcement, Falvo framed the move as more than a homecoming. “Returning to Pittsburgh has always been about more than coming home. It has been about being part of a city whose culinary identity continues to evolve,” she said. “I’m excited to join Fairmont Pittsburgh and bring my experience, creativity, and passion for locally inspired cuisine to the hotel and its guests.”
General manager Shawn St-Pierre cited her roots as part of the appeal. “Janine brings an exceptional combination of culinary expertise, creativity, and a genuine connection to Pittsburgh,” he said. “Her experience and passion make her a natural fit for our property, and we are thrilled to welcome her to our team.”
Menu details will be announced soon, but Chef Falvo is excited to introduce salt cod-potato pierogies with smoked creme fraiche and caviar to the menu. “It takes a Pittsburgh staple and adds a touch of luxury,” she comments. She predicts that she will order that dish with a slightly dirty vodka martini with blue cheese olives from the fl.2 bar, her favorite drink.
When You Go
Fairmont Pittsburgh stands in a LEED Gold-certified tower downtown, a short walk from Market Square and the Cultural District. fl.2 is on the hotel’s second floor. fairmont.com
About the Author
Keith Recker is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Owner of TABLE Magazine. A color and trend forecaster for nearly 20 years, his clients have included Pantone, WGSN, Stylus, and the Color Association of the United States. He is the author of three books on color, including Deep Color: The Shades That Shape Our Souls and True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments, and PANTONE: The Twentieth Century in Color. He is co-founder of the Open Source Colour Association, a new organization devoted to inclusive and transparent color forecasting. Earlier in his career, he was a vice president of home merchandising at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s and Gump’s San Francisco. Listen to his podcast appearances at The Color Authority and EcoFashion Hub.
Read more of his work here or contact him at keith@tablemagazine.com. Follow him on Instagram as @TheChromosapien.
Photos Courtesy of Fairmont Pittsburgh
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