Materia Ristorante and Chef David DiStasi Win Top Awards

Congratulations to Chef David DiStasi for being named Connecticut Chef of the Year in the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s CRAZIES Awards, and to his Materia Ristorante for winning the Restaurant of the Year Award for Litchfield County.

The awards were handed out Monday night, Feb. 4, at a gala at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Last year, Materia won the Restaurant Newcomer award, and this year Litchfield boasted a handful of CRAzies nominations.

Arethusa al tavolo was also a finalist for Litchfield County Restaurant of the Year, as was At The Corner.

Litchfield Distillery was a finalist for Vendor of the Year. (The award went to Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic).

Ryan Pelletier of West Street Grill was a finalist for Bartender of the Year, as was Shannon Ciralli of Marketplace Kitchen & Bar in Avon, who can sometimes be found at Market Place Tavern at The Old Litchfield Jail. (The award went to Sam Reyes from Mariposa Taqueria in Danbury.)

Restaurant of the Year awards were handed out for each of Connecticut’s eight counties, and from those county winners the 2023 Connecticut Restaurant of the Year award went to Coracora, an authentic Peruvian restaurant in West Hartford.

Materia photos at top, from left:

Chef David DiStasi