Like her brother, Raffaele, Rossella Ruggeri grew up in Italy and her earliest memories revolve around food—baking bread in kindergarten, cooking with her sisters, and learning from her mother, father, and grandmother the skills that would forever influence her presence in the kitchen. She recalls summers in Sardinia, accompanying her grandmother and father to the farmers market in the early morning, then returning to the restaurant and helping her Nonna shell the beans for dinner as her father made fresh ice cream.
By the time she moved to Los Angeles at age 10, Rossella had already absorbed the culture and flavors of the hospitality business. At 16, she started working as a hostess in the family’s Café Med in West Hollywood. Relocating as a young bride, much as her grandmother had, Rossella moved to New York City and took her place in the family restaurant there.
After living in London, England, and Eugene, Oregon, where she and her husband raised their children, Rossella has taken a more active position as COO of BiCE Group. Her passion for people, her love of travel, and her skill with restaurant and franchise operations has allowed her to work closely with her father and brother as the business evolves. “It is a world that I have been part of my whole life,” Rossella says, “and seeing it grow and expand in different directions interests me as if it was an art piece that is evolving in its form.”
The love of family and the art of hospitality have shaped Rossella Ruggeri, and it is these qualities she looks for and recreates in every BiCE restaurant.
