If Fabio Viviani, executive chef and co-owner of Cafe Firenze Italian Restaurant and Martini Bar in Moorpark, looks familiar, it's probably because you've seen him on television. Viviani is one of the last four competitors on "Top Chef: New York," airing at 10 tonight on Bravo.

From the 17 "chef-testants" who started the season, Viviani is still standing - competing for the $100,000 prize and a feature in Food & Wine magazine.

Last week, even though he broke his finger during the competition, Viviani won the "last supper" elimination challenge with his roasted chicken with caramelized onions and roasted potatoes, a dish requested by cookbook author, restaurateur and guest judge Lydia Bastianich.

Also still in the competition is Stefan Richter, 36, a Santa Monica caterer. One of the four contestants will be sent home tonight from the broadcast competition in New Orleans. The winner is slated to be announced on next week's season finale.

A winner has already been determined (the show is prerecorded) but mum's the word. Viviani's contract prohibits him from discussing any specifics of shows not already broadcast. Not even his wife knows the winner, he says laughing.

Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Viviani, an only child, began cooking at the age of 6 with his grandmother.

"I was a bad boy," he adds not so kiddingly. "So to keep me quiet and from destroying the whole house, she used to have me help her cook" - stirring pasta at first, then moving on to making fresh pasta, polenta and bread. "It was fun. I butchered my first cow at 11."

By 12, he was working in the restaurant business; the next year, he enrolled in culinary school.

In his early 20s, he traveled around Europe, working short stints without pay in restaurants in France, Spain and Germany to get his start.

He went on to open and co-own six restaurants, two dance clubs and a farmhouse bed and breakfast, all in Florence and the surrounding area. But he sold and chucked it all except the farmhouse to seek fame and fortune in the United States.

"Everyone thought I was crazy. I'd never been to the United States before and didn't speak one word of English.

"I was bored out of my head," he says, adding, "I wasn't cooking anymore, just managing people."

Arriving in December 2005, he joined his best friend, Jacopo Falleni, who was managing Cafe Fiore in Ventura at the time. Viviani worked in the kitchen there for a year before moving on.

His journey to "Top Chef" was the outgrowth of a restaurant customer's suggestion that he apply. But it was an uphill battle getting there for his shot at culinary stardom.

"I submitted a five-minute video, and they called me for season two, but I didn't have citizenship papers so I couldn't do it."

In 2007, he opened Cafe Firenze with Falleni, the general manager who handles the front of the house, and Mike Takeda, his father-in-law, who does the finances.

Located in a free-standing building in a shopping center in Moorpark, when you step inside the restaurant, it exudes the charm of an Italian villa. A beautiful dark-wood bar greets you in the center of the lounge - and the dining room decor features lots of dark woods, both tables and booths, brick and golden walls and an expansive open kitchen. Specializing in Tuscan dishes with Florentine flair, many of the creations are made from traditional recipes handed down by his family. Among his signature dishes are butternut squash ravioli and rib-eye steaks.

With his citizenship papers in hand in 2008 and a new video submission, he applied and was selected for season five in the Big Apple. "I'd never been to New York before."

There's no doubt the food-passionate, energetic 30-year-old Viviani knows his way around a kitchen. In his 250-seat restaurant, he insists on baking his own bread, making some pastas and cheeses, dry-aging meat and preparing desserts.

His cooking philosophy is straightforward.

"If you have a good ingredient, keep it simple - don't complicate things with a lot of ingredients that don't go with the dish. Having a fancy dish with fancy ingredients and fancy presentation doesn't mean it is good.

"Taste and quality of ingredients are most important, followed by presentation."

Viviani's favorite "Top Chef" episode was the Thanksgiving dinner show featuring the Foo Fighters. "I got to go to their concert and made a pumpkin tiramisu with canned pumpkin."

If Viviani were to win, he'd use some of the money to help with his mother's medical care in Italy along with his Firenze4Kids Foundation (www.kidshealthcafe.com), a venture launched to educate families and kids on the benefits of healthy, nutritious eating using fresh ingredients, and to improve their lifestyles.

To be a success on "Top Chef": "You need to completely forget about anything you used to do everyday, as it will not help you there. In real life, you don't have to cook a Thanksgiving meal out of an Easy-Bake oven or prep food in a pan in 10 minutes. You must roll with the punches," he adds, respecting the timing, rules and sometimes long waits.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... FABIO VIVIANI

Age: 30.

Hometown: Florence, Italy.

Did he grow up eating good food? Yes. Lots of bread and pasta, whole milk, red meat, fish and veggies.

Favorite things to eat and drink: Rib-eye steak; any fresh egg noodle pasta; a glass of cold whole milk in the morning; a nice glass of red wine from the Chianti area at night. "Everyday I drink three tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. I haven't missed a day since I was 3 years old. My cholesterol is 137."

What he keeps in his kitchen: Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil (he grows it), heirloom tomatoes, dried De Cecco (brand) pasta, arborio rice.

Favorite dishes to cook/serve at his restaurant: Roasted mushroom risotto, butternut squash ravioli, dry-aged prime beef steaks. "I feed customers the way I like to eat."

Favorite junk foods: Nutella (by the spoonful) and homemade rich chocolate gelato. "I dare anybody to call Nutella junk, because I grew up with it." He eats only Nutella imported from Italy (it is made with vegetable oil, not hydrogenated oil like the product sold in the United States, he notes, but it tastes the same).

Favorite gadget: A pair of tongs. "They are an extension of my own arm."

Pet peeve: When a restaurant customer complains on a Saturday night that the entree is not served within 20 minutes of ordering. "Quality needs time," he says.

Food he dislikes: Cilantro.

Favorite restaurant: Il Pallaio, Florence, Italy, a typical rustic Italian trattoria.

Favorite cookbooks: "Jamie's Italy," by Jamie Oliver.

Hobbies: Growing produce, including tomatoes and herbs; fishing; riding his Ducati motorbike on Sundays.

Favorite music: Italian rock; Christmas songs.

The worst part of being a chef/restaurateur: "If you really cook through the day and nighttime, you smell like fry oil." But the best part is that if the restaurant is successful, you can hire a chef "and he smells like fry oil."

Tips for a good life: "Eat a lot, laugh a lot, and have a lot of sex."

- Natalie Haughton