[1] Leite was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, and raised in Swansea, where he graduated from Joseph Case High School in 1978.
Leite is a four-time nominee for the Bert Greene Award for Food Journalism, which he won in 2006.
Leite has appeared on History Channel 2's United Stuff of America and Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay.
He reads his essays and columns, as well as acts as a correspondent, on public radio's food program The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.
In August 2009 his first book, The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors From Europe's Western Coast, was published by Clarkson Potter[15] and won the 2010 First Book/Julia Child Award.