Joe Famularo

The Essentials Away from work, Joe Famularo keeps close to Portsmouth and the seacoast, where the local pace leaves room for routine, neighborhood stops, and a well-used kitchen. With his wife by his side, he likes the setting for the same reasons many working cooks do: familiar places, regular faces, and a day shaped by small, repeatable habits. A downtown coffee house, a meeting with friends, a trip to the local farmers market, then back home to cook up a storm, that is the sequence. That rhythm matters. It places the work of cooking inside community, not apart from it: the market visit, the shared table, the return to the stove, and the value of turning what’s close at hand into something satisfying. In Joe Famularo’s case, the craft extends beyond the job itself and into the way a place is lived in.

Signature

Joe Famularo's signature dishes include Celebrations, The Joy of Grilling, Crazy for Italian Food: a Memoir of Family, and Food & Place. As titles, they point to a practice built around gathering, grilling, and memory, with food used as a way to mark occasions and hold family and place together. The work reads as direct and social: food made to be shared, and to carry a story without overcomplicating it.

In Their Words “With my wife by my side I love enjoying the ambiance of Portsmouth and the seacoast. I enjoy simply visiting our favorite downtown coffee house, meeting friends, shopping at the local farmers market and then cooking up a storm.”

Recognition

Joe Famularo has received James Beard Award for Celebrations.

FAQ Where does Joe Famularo spend time away from work? He enjoys Portsmouth and the seacoast, including a favorite downtown coffee house, meeting friends, shopping at the local farmers market, and cooking at home.