Antonia Allegra
Symposium Founding Director, Writing & Career Coach, Catalyst
Antonia (Toni) Allegra is a coach and mentor dedicated to working with food and wine professionals regarding their writing and their careers. She has coached culinary starters and stars, having influenced the creation of more than 150 publications in all formats. She lives in the Napa Valley where she is active as a poet, an actor, and communitarian. She lives in a “treehouse.”
Toni founded the Symposium for Professional Food Writers, established the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley and was its first Director. She was instrumental in the design, launch, and early phases of the CIA/Greystone campus; Beringer Vineyards’ School for American Chefs; La Cocina que Canta culinary center at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Baja California.
Toni authored Napa Valley: The Ultimate Winery Guide, and the Napa Valley Expedition Guide and the Wine Country Deck. Toni was founding editor of several award-winning print magazines Napa Valley Tables, Vine Napa Valley, and Appellation. Prior to being food editor of the Evening Tribune, she was teacher/owner of her own cooking school, also in San Diego.