Rising Star Chef Joe Sparatta of Heritage - Biography

A native of New Jersey, Joe Sparatta was born into a family full of chefs and took up the craft at an early age. However, it wasn’t until he began working at The Ryland Inn under Chef Craig Shelton that he truly found his passion. At the time, The Ryland was the only restaurant in New Jersey to be awarded four stars by The New York Times and Relais Gourmands by Relais & Chateaux. It was in this environment, with a vast four-acre organic garden to work with, that Sparatta got his education. He received additional training with Chefs David Bouley, Eric Ripert, and Michael Laiskonis in New York City before joining Chef Scott Anderson to open elements in Princeton, New Jersey, where he ambitiously fulfilled the role of both sous and pastry chefs.

Sparatta and his wife moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 2011, and then in late 2012, he opened Heritage with brother-in-law Mattias Hägglund. Since its opening, Heritage has garnered numerous accolades, including: Southern Living’s “100 Best Restaurants in the South 2014,” Richmond Magazine’s “Best New Restaurant 2013,” and four Stars by Richmond Times Dispatch. Sparatta is also in the process of opening a new restaurant (with fellow 2014 D.C. Rising Star Chef Lee Gregory), which will be a seasonally driven, casual eatery called Southbound.