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Steve Samson didn't set out on a culinary career. He spent three years in Columbia University’s pre-medical program before enrolling at ICE. He then worked in several New York restaurants and before long, famed restaurateur Piero Selvaggio noticed him and sent him to hone his craft in two- and three-star Italian restaurants for more than a year. In 1999, Samson returned to the US and worked as sous chef of Valentino Las Vegas. Stints followed at Selvaggio’s Posto in Sherman Oaks and Valentino Santa Monica. His work at the later lead to a 2004 James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Restaurant, given when Samson was executive chef. He then joined David Myers’ Sona, and became executive chef and partner at Pizzeria Ortica when it opened in 2009. His latest venture is Los Angeles’s Sotto and Rossoblu.