Chef Dana Downs
Executive Chef/Owner
Born and raised in Dayton, OH, Chef Dana started her culinary career 30 years ago in local kitchens. Attaining culinary and management degrees, while studying under an Italian chef mentor, Chef Dana fell in love with the idea of modernizing classic Italian dishes. In 2011, she decided to focus on fresh pastas, seafood and heritage meats, in developing a fine dining concept, Roost Modern Italian. Since then, Chef has transformed her menus, the restaurant with a recent expansion and the minds of Italian food lovers in Dayton. In 2023, Chef was a champion on the Food Network’s season premiere of Superchef Grudge Match, as well as featured on Guy Fieri’s Guys Grocery Games! Chef Dana resides in downtown Dayton with her wife and 2 pups.