We are delighted to announce that Christianne R. Ricchi has joined the Board of Directors of the John S. Mulholland Family Foundation.
Christianne Ricchi is Owner and Executive Chef of Ristorante i Ricchi, Washington D.C. Opened in 1989, it is one of the oldest operating restaurants in the city. It specializes in authentic Tuscan and regional Italian cuisine with a 34 yr. reputation as being one of the finest restaurants in the country and, according to L’Accademia della Cucina Italiana, one of the best Italian restaurants outside of Italy.
Ms. Ricchi came to DC after having spent 17 years working at the Trattoria i Ricchi, outside of Florence, Italy. It was there that she learned the true essence of regional cooking and hospitality. Later, as Americans began to discover authentic Italian cuisine, she returned to the States to open a restaurant combining the subtle nuances of fresh country flavors prepared in the Italian tradition creating a unique experience that is the founding vision of Ristorante i Ricchi.
From the year it opened, when it was voted Best New Restaurant of the Year by Esquire magazine to being presented the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s Honorary Milestone Award, Ristorante i Ricchi has fervently served its community.During the thirty-four years the restaurant has been open, Christianne has garnered much acclaim from culinary and hospitality industry publications and has served on numerous restaurant boards. She has been active in leadership roles, both in the restaurant industry and in the community. She received the “Piero Bargellini Award of Excellence” given by the city of Florence for the revitalization and advancement of Italian culture in the world. She was named a “Woman Power Player” by Nation’s Restaurant News, “Hospitality Ambassador of Washington, DC” by the RAMW and The Washington Post as well as “Washington DC Humanitarian of the Year”. She is one of the very few women to be inducted into the prestigious National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation College of Diplomates. She has testified before Congress numerous times and led the launch of DC’s Restaurant Week in 2011. As a Washington Business Journal “Woman Who Means Business” she continues to reinvent and refine the restaurant’s cuisine which has duly received acclaim from far and wide. Most recently she won a RAMMY Award for her creative efforts to serve the public during the COVID shutdown.
Christianne served on the Board of Trustees of The College of New Rochelle (her alma mater) and is Trustee Emeritus on the Board of Riverview School, a school for learning disabled children where she helped establish the “Village of Dreams” fundraiser, bringing together celebrity chefs and the community to raise over $7 million dollars to support the school and its mission.
She is a member of the International Women’s Forum and Les Dames d’ Escoffier. She organizes many initiatives to support charitable organizations in the DC community and is particularly interested in helping women by creating a place for them at the restaurant to interact, network and support each other.
Christianne enthusiastically embraces the JSM mission and looks forward to being part of the leadership team that will move us forward into our second decade serving the food insecure and working poor of our beloved Washington.