James Rigato
James Rigato is an American chef and restaurateur based in Michigan. He is the chef and owner of Mabel Gray in Hazel Park and was previously the executive chef of The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake Township. Rigato competed on the twelfth season of Top Chef and has been named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes five times, in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.
Early life and career
Rigato grew up in Howell, Michigan. He began working in restaurants at age 14 as a dishwasher and enrolled in the culinary arts program at Schoolcraft College three years later. After graduating, he worked at several restaurants in the metropolitan Detroit area, including Morels, Shiraz, the Rugby Grille at the Townsend Hotel, and Bacco Ristorante.
The Root
In 2007, Rigato began working as a private chef for businesses owned by Ed Mamou. The two later became business partners and opened The Root Restaurant & Bar in White Lake Township in 2011. The restaurant, whose menu emphasized ingredients from Michigan farms, was named the 2012 Restaurant of the Year by the Detroit Free Press.
The Root was sold in 2018. Contemporary coverage described it as the restaurant that had helped establish Rigato's public profile, while Rigato continued operating Mabel Gray.
Mabel Gray
Rigato and Mamou opened Mabel Gray in Hazel Park in September 2015. Rigato described it as a smaller and more personal project than The Root, with a frequently changing menu rather than a fixed set of dishes. The restaurant was named after Alice Mabel Gray, the woman associated with the local legend known as the "Diana of the Dunes".
The Detroit Free Press named Mabel Gray its 2017 Restaurant of the Year. Restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik characterized Rigato's cooking there as improvisational American cuisine shaped by both Michigan ingredients and international influences. Mabel Gray was later named the 2025 Restaurant of the Year by Hour Detroit, which cited the restaurant's longevity and continued use of seasonal menus.
Amelia Street Pizza
In 2026, Rigato partnered with Matt Arb on Amelia Street Pizza Co., a pizzeria in Hazel Park. Rigato joined the project as a minority partner and mentor, with the restaurant opening at 951 East Nine Mile Road on June 18, 2026. The project marked Rigato's first brick-and-mortar pizzeria.
In September 2026, Amelia Street Pizza received an 8.3 out of 10 rating from pizza reviewer Dave Portnoy in his One Bite Pizza Reviews series. Portnoy included the pizzeria among his three favorite pizza restaurants in the Detroit area. The review brought additional attention to the restaurant.
Television and media
In 2014, he appeared as a contestant on Top Chef: Boston, the twelfth season of the Bravo television series. He was eliminated in the fourth episode.
In addition to Top Chef, Rigato appeared in the Michigan episode of the National Geographic series Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted in 2021. In the episode, titled "Michigan's Yooper Cuisine", he served as Ramsay's local guide to food traditions in the Upper Peninsula.
Rigato has also worked in public radio. He co-hosted Ann Delisi's Essential Cooking, a WDET radio program and podcast about food and cooking.
Recognition
In 2015, Rigato won the Great Lakes region of Food & Wine magazine's People's Best New Chef readers' poll. The following year, StarChefs named him a Rust Belt Rising Star.
Mabel Gray was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation's Best New Restaurant award in 2016. Rigato was subsequently named a semifinalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.