Daryl Johnson is Chef and co-owner of Amici’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in Meaford. His life in foodservice dates back to his teens and his first kitchen job at the Falls Inn in Walters Falls in 2006. In the years since, he completed the Culinary Management program at the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and earned a diploma in the Masters Course of Italian Cuisine and Oenology at the International Culinary Institute for Foreigners near Asti in Northern Italy.

Of course, he continued honing his skills at the same time, working at Talisman Mountain Resort, Splendidos in Toronto, Reeds Restaurant in Meaford, and led his first kitchen at the Grandview Restaurant in Thornbury. He worked in corporate/institutional settings at Ragland Village and 4th Canadian Division Training Centre, where a team of only three cooks fed 2000 personnel. And he got a taste of the catering end of the business, working with Christine Collins in Meaford at The Kitchen and Christine Collins Catering.

In the fall of 2017, this young entrepreneur took the plunge, launching his own business: Amici Restaurant and Pizzeria. Two years later, he manages a passionate team of 17 staff serving a fully licensed dine-in restaurant able to accommodate private parties of up to 40 people, with a full menu for takeout and delivery. Amici also caters events for groups of two to 200 people.