Nick Meola comes from a foodie family. His great grandfather owned and ran a restaurant in Amsterdam, NY. Meola grew up close by, in Ravena, and began his first job in the industry at age fourteen.

Meola joined White Management Corporation as a dishwasher for Mangia, their Italian restaurant concept, in 2006. Within his first week, Meola was promoted to line cook, and by 2010, he was Mangia’s Executive Chef. He served in this capacity until 2015, when the company retired the Mangia restaurants.

For several years, Meola pursued other interests, but rejoined the company in 2019 to help create the Annabel’s Pizza Co. brand. Annabel’s Pizza Co. opened in March of 2020, but closed almost immediately due to the pandemic. Meola pivoted to work with the Bountiful Bread team, shepherding in a series of menu updates.

Meola reopened Annabel’s in June of 2020, and assisted with the opening of Bountiful Bread-Schenectady in 2021, while also rebuilding the company’s catering business, Mill Artisan District Events (MADE), which had halted during the pandemic. In June of 2022, Meola was named Executive Chef for Bountiful Bread and Bountiful @ Frog Alley catering (previously MADE), in addition to his Annabel’s responsibilities.

In his current role, Meola is focused on the menus. He is adding local and seasonal ingredients to the restaurant offerings, with the intention of celebrating regional treasures like apples and other farm products. He loves taking a classic recipe and standing it on its head—“giving it a fun flare”, or taking a simple dish and twisting it somewhat. He has recently released a new, complete menu for Bountiful @ Frog Alley Catering, as well as a spring/summer and fall/winter seasonal menu. His current favorites are Bountiful Bread’s Sunrise Scramble and Annabel’s Soppressata with Burrata and Honey pizza.

Meola is a graduate of Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, and completed several years of business classes at SUNY Cobleskill, while studying culinary arts on the side. Meola enjoys downhill skiing at Gore Mountain and watching the Yankees play baseball with his wife Rebecca.