Sylvia Barban

Silvia Barban was born and raised in Northern Italy. She grew up cooking with her grandmother, Delia, and always admired her ability to bring people together through her cooking. That’s when she decided to start cooking not only for her family but also to bring people together with her food.

She graduated from “E. Maggia” Stresa Culinary School and found her way in the kitchen of the Maestro of Italian cuisine, Gualtiero Marchesi. She worked for Giancarlo Perbellini, a two Michelin star restaurant in Verona. In 2012, she had the opportunity to move to New York with Chef Perbellini to consult for the opening of Giovanni Rana Pastificio e Cucina. What was supposed to be only a 3-month stay there became her home. After two years as a sous chef at Giovanni Rana, she later received an offer to become Executive Chef at Aita in Brooklyn, where she directed the restaurant using fresh local produce to create traditional and modern Italian dishes. In 2016, she competed in Season 14 of Bravo’s Top Chef. When she arrived home from the competition, she partnered with her colleagues from Aita and opened a new restaurant, Larina Pastificio e Vino, in Brooklyn. The menu is a mix of Italian experiences and pasta, drawing inspiration from her childhood in Northern and Southern Italy as well as her current travels and continues to be a beloved Fort Greene neighborhood staple. On September 2024, she opens her newest restaurant in Crown Heights Briscola Trattoria.