07-02-2015
Multi-awarded chef and beloved television star Tony Mantuano was among the first to interpret Italian signature cuisine in the United States. He will participate in Identità di Pasta, on Tuesday 10th February. With him there will also be: Marianna Vitale, Christian e Manuel Costardi, Luca Fantin, Andrea Berton, Enrico Croatti, Davide Scabin,Viviana Varese, Massimo Bottura
In 1983 Tony Mantuano arrived in Italy, from where his own family and his wife’s come from. He spent a year collecting experiences and ideas – in fine dining restaurants, such as Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull'Oglio or Da Romano in Viareggio – and then, the following year, he returned to the United States and opened his restaurant in Chicago. He called it Spiaggia and it was a great success right away. This success still continues, as demonstrated, for example, by the choice made by Barak Obama of celebrating his first election as President, in 2008, in that very restaurant. As we wait for his lecture at Identità Milano 2015, during a conversation with Mantuano we asked him, first of all, what he will talk about on the stage of Identità di Pasta, on Tuesday 10th February. «Since the theme of the congress is "a healthy intelligence" and therefore the focus is on health, I will certainly speak about our gluten-free pasta, which we have included in our menu for some time now, and of all we are doing to be aware of this theme in our restaurant.»
Gluten-free pasta is certainly an interesting theme: have you noticed a growing demand? «Our clients ask it more and more, yes. What is important for me is satisfying clients, making them happy, and serving them pasta that is always delicious, even if we use gluten-free raw materials. I want to make pasta that even those who never eat gluten-free food can enjoy.»
Tony Mantuano is not only Spiaggia. Over the years he opened many more restaurants: Terzo Piano, a Mediterranean restaurant inside the Chicago Art Institute, Bar Toma, a pizzeria in the heart of Chicago, Mangia Trattoria, a very classic Italian establishment in his hometown, Kenosha in Wisconsin. Last year he also opened his first restaurant not dedicated to Italian cuisine, River Roast, also in Chicago
Mantuano was also among the protagonists, last October, of Identità Chicago, where this picture was taken together with Davide Oldani and Ugo Alciati
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by
Journalist, based in Milan. At 8 years old, he received a Springsteen record as a gift, and nothing was the same since. Music and food are his passions. Author and broadcaster at Radio Popolare since 1997, since 2014 he became part of the staff of Identità Golose Instagram: @NiccoloVecchia