Andrew Cotto ’91, who has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Lynchburg, will be honored in June by The Italian Language Foundation. Cotto will receive the not-for-profit organization’s Giambelli Culinary Award for his work promoting Italian food and culture.

According to Dr. Margaret Cuomo, cofounder and president of the New York City-based foundation, the award “recognizes restaurants, chefs, food vendors, distributors, markets, journalists, cookbook authors, lifestyle advocates, and culinary institutions that honor and promote Italian culture and Italian cuisine to the United States.”

Cotto, a writer, editor, chef, educator, and television personality, checks several of those boxes.

“Andrew Cotto’s passion for Italian language and culture includes Italian cuisine, art, architecture, literature, and so many other Italian contributions to the world,” Cuomo said. “[He] appreciates and celebrates the cuisine of Italy and is also an excellent chef.

“Importantly, Andrew’s kindness, courtesy, and sensitivity are evident in the way he interacts with this colleagues, friends, and family. He is admired and beloved by many.”

Lately, Cotto has been making the rounds on New York City television, promoting Italian food and culture and his online magazine, Appetito.

A couple of weeks ago, he appeared on the ABC Localish show “My Go-To,” where he and the host discussed “NYC’s Italian Food Revolution.” On Wednesday, April 16, he’ll be on the Fox 5 show “Good Day New York.” Cotto’s segment will appear in the 10 o’clock hour of what he describes as a “wildly popular” morning news show.

It appears that Cotto has become the go-to guy in the NYC area on the subject of Italian food and culture. In addition to appearing on “My Go-To” and numerous “Good Day New York” segments, he has been a guest on “New York Living,” “New York Live,” “The Donna Drake Show,” “New Jersey Morning Show,” and other shows.

“My first appearance on major NYC networks began in 2018 with ‘Good Day New York’ … with my Italian-based novel, ‘Cucina Tipica: An Italian Adventure,’” Cotto said. “This led to subsequent appearances with each additional book, always appearing with food I prepared ahead of time or made on set.”

Cotto, an award-winning author, also makes book club appearances and does cooking demonstrations. He recently finished his eighth book, the novel “Harlem River Blues.” It’s part of what Cotto describes as a “noir series” that also includes “Outerborough Blues: A Brooklyn Mystery” and “Black Irish Blues.”

Other books by Cotto include “The Domino Effect,” “Cucina Romana,” “Martinis and Bikinis,” and “Pasta Mike: A Story of Friendship and Loss.” He also has been busy turning “Pasta Mike” into a one-man play.

Appetito launched in 2023. The online magazine is devoted to Italian food and culture, and Cotto is its editor-in-chief.

He co-founded Appetito with publishing veteran Richard Martin. “Richard … was my managing editor at La Cucina Italiana, a revered Italian-based magazine, which had a U.S. operation,” Cotto said, referring to one of the many magazines he’s contributed to over the years.

“When the U.S. version folded during the pandemic, right around the time my teaching position was eliminated [at LIM College], I approached Richard about starting our own Italian food publication.”

In addition to Appetito, Cotto has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, and he has written for Rolling Stone, Men’s Journal, Parade, Condé Nast Traveler, Rachel Ray In Season, Brooklyn Magazine, Huffington Post, and numerous other publications.

He also served as editor-in-chief of Italian America magazine from 2022 to 2025.

After graduating from Lynchburg, Cotto set aside dreams of being a teacher and writer, opting instead for what he thought would be a more lucrative career in corporate sales. The dreams didn’t die, however.

“The original desire never faded, and after 12 years I decided, after a fateful trip to Italy, to transition out of my existing career into the fields I had originally felt were my calling,” he said.

So, Cotto quit his corporate job, sublet his Brooklyn home and moved to Florence, Italy, where he wrote his first novel, “The Domino Effect.” A year later — finished novel in hand — he acquired a literary agent and enrolled in The New School’s Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program.

“With that degree, I was able to begin working as a professor of English, while continuing to write novels,” he said. “Over the subsequent 15 years, I worked consistently in higher education and completed six novels.”

Along the way, Cotto realized that Italian food entered into much of his subject matter, which led to the creation of Appetito.

“Not at first, as I was also writing about politics, parenting, music and other subjects where I had some expertise,” he said. “But Italian food became the primary focus over the years, especially during and after the [COVID-19] pandemic.”

Cotto added that he’s currently “building Appetito into a full-blown media brand that includes travel, video, e-commerce and other avenues supported by our excellent editorial content.”

You can keep up with Cotto at appetitomagazine.com or andrewcotto.com.