i. Biography
Head of Culinary at Groot Hospitality, Dan Perretta’s career reads as incremental kitchen work: training first, then service, then broader control over standards and rhythm. The starting point was Toronto, Canada, in a family restaurant environment, where cooking sat inside daily labor rather than theory. From there, George Brown College added formal structure, and Chicago supplied the pressure test at Alinea, The Aviary, and Roister. Each stop widened the scope of the work without breaking the line back to the beginning.
The Path
George Brown College gave Dan Perretta the formal base for Culinary Management, the kind of training that supports a kitchen built on repeatable standards. Chicago then became the practical proving ground. In 2014, he worked as Sous Chef at Alinea in Chicago, United States, a role defined by precision, speed, and the demands of service at the highest level. By 2016, he had moved to Executive Chef at The Aviary in Chicago, United States, taking on not just the pass but the responsibility for a kitchen’s rhythm, standards, and identity. That progression continued in 2019, when he became Executive Chef of Roister, a role he has held since then. From 2021 to 2025, he served as Executive Chef and partner at Etta Collective, adding partnership to the title and a deeper stake in the work. The pattern across those years is clear: each role builds on the last, with responsibility expanding step by step. Today, he is Executive Chef of Roister since 2019 and head of culinary of Groot Hospitality since 2025.
The Work Today
Head of Culinary at Groot Hospitality places Dan Perretta in Miami Beach, Florida, United States, with oversight that reaches beyond a single service or dining room. The role is a broader form of kitchen leadership: food, direction, and execution moving together under one set of expectations. In a city shaped by constant motion, the position puts him inside the daily work of setting pace and maintaining standards. The line he gives for the work is direct: “Cooking is my love language.” It sits naturally beside a career that started in a family restaurant, where food was part of ordinary life and connection rather than performance.
Acclaim
The recognition in Perretta’s record is built into the titles themselves: Sous Chef in 2014, Executive Chef in 2016, Executive Chef in 2019, Executive Chef and partner in 2021, and head of culinary. Each step points to a wider field of responsibility, from station-level precision to executive oversight and partnership. The throughline is consistency, not spectacle. Those milestones also keep the Toronto start visible. Before the named roles and the current appointment, the foundation was family cooking and small-restaurant service; the later record shows how that early education carried into each next level of the trade.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Dan
What is Dan Perretta's current role?
As of 2026, Dan Perretta is Head of Culinary.
Where did Dan Perretta train or study?
Dan Perretta trained at George Brown College.
