By Danielle Wiseman, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce

Chef Frank Puleo, Owner of Catering by Framboise, spreads love through food.

Originally a teacher, Puleo started his career with the New York City Department of Education. A graduate of New Dorp High School, Puleo went on to Brooklyn College to pursue a degree in education. Fluent in Italian, Puleo decided to become an Italian teacher, and during his junior year, he had the opportunity to study abroad at the University of Florence.

"When I was at the University of Florence, I was supposed to be studying language and literature, but living in Florence, how do you not learn about the food there?" remarks Puleo. "I worked with a couple of cooking teachers while I was there and got to bake bread for the monks at San Miniato al Monte, but then I had to come back to New York to get my teaching license."

During his senior year at Brooklyn College, Puleo began student teaching at the now defunct South Shore High School in Canarsie, and he immediately made a name for himself there. Upon graduating and obtaining his teaching license, Puleo started teaching at South Shore High School full-time, connecting with both students and teachers alike and quickly gaining the trust of the administration.

Just five years into teaching, Puleo became an Assistant Principal at the young age of 26. Spending much of his time managing teachers and very little time with the students, Puleo began questioning his path as an educator. After a year of serving as an Assistant Principal and a total of six years at South Shore High School, Puleo decided to start his career anew.

Pivoting to his true passion of food, Puleo went back to the University of Florence to study under the renowned Italian chef, Giuliano Bugialli. Eventually becoming Bugialli's assistant, Puleo spent an additional six months in Florence learning Florentine cuisine before returning to New York to work in restaurants.

In 1979, Puleo began his first culinary job working as a chef at Manhattan Market, an up-and-coming Upper East Side food establishment led by restauranteur Robert Schapiro and chef David Liederman, who later started David's Cookies.

"We were catering the party for the release of David's cookbook, and Julia Child was a guest there. She was an absolute idol, so for a chef, this was a dream," reminisces Puleo. "Julia Child loved young American chefs, that was just her thing, so she wrote about me to Mimi Sheraton at the New York Times and Tony Spinazzola at the Boston Globe. She helped me get my name out there."

Shortly after meeting Julia Child, Puleo got an offer to work as head chef at the brand-new DeMarco Restaurant in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he eventually became a part-owner. Puleo continued working at DeMarco's for another year, when he decided to open his own storefront on Staten Island.

Framboise, modeled after a high-end French restaurant just outside of Chicago, opened on Forest Avenue in 1981 in a charming late-Victorian house-turned-eatery. Instantly attracting the attention of well-known industry professionals, Framboise quickly became a go-to for unlikely food combinations and innovative French-Italian inspired dishes. It was at this time that Puleo also hired Frank Lombardi, an emerging Staten Island chef who helped Puleo shape Framboise.

"In 1985, a client of mine asked me to cater a party for Brooklyn Union Gas at the Brooklyn Museum for a thousand people, and that was my first catered event," says Puleo. "I came home and said to my wife, 'This is what I want to do.' She told me to put the restaurant up for sale and pursue catering."

In 1986, Puleo officially opened Catering by Framboise. Starting with small dinner parties and later taking on much larger events with over 100 waitstaff, Catering by Framboise took off throughout the tristate area. With Puleo and Lombardi at the helm, Catering by Framboise became a household name.

"We were catering a party at Snug Harbor, and one of the buses coming from Manhattan was late, so we kept the hors d'oeuvres going an hour and a half longer than they were scheduled. Somebody came into the kitchen and asked how we still had food, and I said, 'This is what we do, we make it work,'" says Puleo. "It turns out that he was in charge of hospitality for the Olympics, and he asked me to cater for the Atlanta games. After that, they kept asking us to come back. We catered a total of seven Olympic Games."

In addition to the Olympics, Puleo has catered all around the United States, bringing his food across the country to companies like Microsoft and serving icons like Connie Francis and Frank Sinatra. Puleo has also served as an incredible influence for the many hundreds of employees that he has worked with and supported over the years, often employing generations of families.

Puleo is also the in-house caterer for The Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor, as well as a member of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Puleo serves on the Board of Directors for the SEARCH Foundation, Community Agency for Senior Citizens, and the International Caterers Association (ICA). Through ICA, Puleo leads culinary learning journeys a few times per year, taking thirty caterers to different sites around the world to eat and learn.

For his accomplishments, Chef Frank Puleo is being honored with a Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award, which he will receive in the Established Businessperson category. The awards, which are presented by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Advance, honor the memory of Louis R. Miller, a businessman and West Brighton resident who was also a community leader.

"Getting to serve people is the best part about my job," adds Puleo. "I get to make people feel like guests in their own homes, and I really get the opportunity to build a relationship with my clients. I've watched some of them grow up and have their own kids, and it's an honor to be able to feed people, especially on Staten Island."

Current occupation and title: OWNER, Catering by Framboise, Inc

Hometown: Dongan Hills

Past occupation/s and titles: Former Assistant Principal, Bilingual Education, South Shore High School Brooklyn and Foreign language teacher at the same school

Community involvement: Present: Second VP of Community Agency for Senior Citizens; Present: Treasurer of the International Caterers Educational Foundation; Present: Treasurer of the SEARCH Foundation. Former Board member of Project Hospitality.

Some of my life goals include: Continue to travel to foreign lands.

The best part of my job: Working with my team at Framboise.

The most difficult part of my job: Continually training new staff.

My life philosophy: LISTEN. It is amazing what you can learn by just listening to people.

I am most proud of: Having catered SEVEN Olympic games for the US Olympic Committee.

Something that few people know about me: I am a Quaker, and while I do not attend meetings for worship on a regular basis, I still up-hold the beliefs and principles of the religion.

The quality I like best about myself: The ability to work with and communicate with people of all cultures and beliefs.

Personal interests and hobbies: Cooking and Travel.

I laugh at: Most things.

I am really good at: Learning new languages.

I admire: Open-minded people.

Some important things I would like you to know about me: I am user-friendly. I am still a teacher at-heart and love sharing knowledge especially with younger people.

This story is one of the 2026 Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award recipient highlights. To view all recipients, purchase tickets, sponsor the event, or purchase a journal ad, visit www.sichamber.com/lm2026