Our Team
Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants is led by a remarkable team. Passionately dedicated to superior service, each member brings a unique wealth of experience and creativity for a wonderfully diverse point of view.
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fabio trabocchi
Capital Chef & Restaurateur
Fabio Trabocchi is an internationally acclaimed chef and restaurateur based in Washington, D.C. He is the founder and owner of Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, home to multiple award-winning restaurants in the U.S.
Trabocchi grew up in Le Marche, a beautiful region of Italy that lies on the Adriatic Coast. His love for food was inspired by his father, a passionate farmer and gardener, who grew most of the food that the family ate. Chef Fabio pursued his formal culinary education at the Istituto Alberghiero Panzine in Senigallia, Italy before working in numerous restaurants around the world including London, multiple cities in Spain, Moscow, Washington, D.C., and New York.
In 2011, Trabocchi opened his flagship restaurant Fiola in downtown D.C., which earned its first MICHELIN star in 2018 and its fifth consecutive star in 2022. Since 2011, Trabocchi has focused on expanding Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants to become one of the preeminent restaurant groups in the world. It currently includes the Italian inspired Fiola, Fiola Mare, and Sfoglina Pasta Houses in the D.C. metro’s downtown, Van Ness, and Arlington, VA neighborhoods. His Del Mar restaurant is a celebration of Spanish seafood cuisine in D.C.’s Wharf district. Fiolina Pasta House, inspired by Sfoglina, is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2023 in Boca Raton, FL, along with Del Mar Boston.
david murphy
Chief Operating Officer
Originally from Ireland, David’s career in the luxury hospitality industry has given him the good fortune to travel the world for the last 20 years. Starting with training in the culinary arts and hotel management, David began his luxury career in various independent hotels before joining The Ritz-Carlton Hotel company in 2002. From there David held various positions of increasing responsibilities in Washington DC and Europe before returning to the iconic The Ritz-Carlton in Boston.
In 2011, David returned to his U.S. roots in Washington, D.C., and became the Global Vice President for Food and Beverage at The Ritz-Carlton corporate office, where he oversaw all facets of the food and beverage experience and strategy for the company. This experience allowed David to create, concept and open multiple restaurants globally in locations such as Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kazakhstan, and multiple locations in Europe, the U.S., and the Caribbean.
In 2017, following the acquisition of Starwood by Marriott International, David assumed the role of Global Vice President of Food & Beverage Design & Development, Luxury Brands which included oversight of strategy for The Ritz-Carlton, The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, and JW Marriott.
Over the course of his career, David has also designed and implemented multiple guest experiential events from Aspen Food & Wine activations to the Gather Food & Wine Festival at the JW Marriott Venice.
David's passion for creating incredible culinary and beverage experiences makes him a perfect creative partner for Fabio.
Sarah Bengtson
Director of OPerations
Originally from Connecticut, Sarah has been a pivotal member of the Fabio Trabocchi Restaurant team since 2012. She graduated from Trinity College with a degree in economics and started her career with Max Restaurant Group in Hartford, CT. After moving to DC in 2012, Sarah's joined the Fiola team as a captain. She soon joined the management team, and her leadership has played key roles in opening several restaurants including Casa Luca in 2013. In 2015, she rejoined the Fiola team as the Private Events Manager. In 2017, she was a part of the opening team at FTRs first Spanish venture, Del Mar. In her time as Event Manager with Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, she curated once in lifetime events and helped propel political hotspots such as Fiola and Del Mar into power dining cornerstones in the city.
In 2018, doors opened for Sarah to join the Catering team at the Four Seasons Washington D.C. where her connections continued to craft memorable events for notable clients. She rejoined the Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants team in 2020 in Human Resources and Talent Acquisition Manager.
CASPER RICE
Corporate Wine Director
Originally from Chicago, Casper moved to San Francisco in 2004 to further explore the food and wine industry. At Rubicon Restaurant, he received initial lessons from Master Sommelier Larry Stone. Upon Stone’s retirement from the restaurant, Rice joined the team at Restaurant Michael Mina in the Westin St. Francis. For three years he worked with the group under the guidance of Wine Director Rajat Parr. In 2008, after spending a growing season in the Loire Valley and a harvesting season in Burgundy with Nicolas Potel, Casper returned to San Francisco to open Rajat Parr’s Burgundy focused restaurant RN74. After nearly seven years exploring the world of wine, Casper drove the bar programs for Michelin-starred Alexander’s Steakhouse, with focus at the San Francisco location. Using a background in wine as a backdrop to understanding flavor balance, Casper created 'farm-to-table’ house-made bitters, tinctures, and syrups to produce classic and modern cocktails that would play yin to the yang of Chef Marc Zimmerman’s Japanese-influenced gastronomic creations.
After two and a half years of bar programming, Casper was recruited to Virginia by The Inn at Little Washington. Co-authoring a Grand Award-winning wine list was a great experience while also running the floor as a sommelier and organizing the cellar of around 18,000 bottles. After a year and a half in the Virginia countryside, Casper found a new home in Washington, D.C. with Fabio Trabocchi Restaurants, overseeing the wine and beverage programs at all locations.
Under Casper’s leadership, Fiola’s wine list received the Grand Award from Wine Spectator in 2019 and again in 2020 and 2021.
Jennifer Rosser
Director of Human Resources
Arizona-native Jennifer Rosser is a CIA-trained pastry chef whose standards and exceptional attention to detail were established in Relais & Châteaux and Michelin-starred kitchens. After her time at the CIA, she earned a degree in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and she is also certified by the International Sommelier Guild in Level I & II Wine Fundamentals. Jennifer's exemplary leadership was awarded the Emerging Hospitality Manager of the Year Award by the American Hotel Association in 2016, shortly before The Four Seasons and the Mina Group promoted her from Assistant General Manager to General Manager of one of the busiest restaurants in both groups.
Jennifer joined the Fabio Trabocchi team in 2017 and has worked in various departments including private events, Fiola Mare and Fiola management, and Human Resources. In recent years Jennifer has continued her education in Human Resources from Cornell University