Biography

Mark Peel is the executive chef and owner of Campanile restaurant. He was born and raised in both Southern and Northern California.

By the time Mark was in high school, he had worked in a series of kitchen jobs which included a stint as a fry cook at Cindy's, a coffee shop which serviced a 24 hour freeway truckstop in San Gabriel Valley. He majored in history at the University of California at Santa Barbara before transferring to the hotel and restaurant department at California Polytechnic University at Pomona. While still in college, he wrangled a job peeling vegetables for chef Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison restaurant. As part of Ma Maison's informal apprenticeship program, he was sent to work at two French three-star restaurants, La Tour d'Argents and Moulinde Mougins. Mark was Sous chef at Michael's restaurant in Santa Monica when he met his future wife, pastry chef Nancy Silverton.

Before opening Spago in 1982 as head chef under Wolfgang Puck at Spago, a position he held for 3 1/2 years, he spent a year working at the celebrated Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. In 1985, he and Silverton put in six months revamping Maxwell's Plum in New York. In June of 1989, he opened Campanile restaurant.

Mark and Nancy co-authored their cookbook: "Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton At Home; Two Chefs Cook for Family and Friends". They have currently completed work on another cookbook together, "The Food of Campanile," published by Villard. The couple have three children, Vanessa, Benjamin and Oliver.

Awards