 |
| Chef Marco Giugliano |
You can take
the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. That
saying comes to mind when I think of
Chef Marco Giugliano. Giugliano is the
executive chef of
Doma Restaurant in Miami, Florida. A long way from his hometown of Piazzola di Nola, Campania, Italy. the first couple of minutes have a phone
call with Giugliano you hear his Neapolitan accent, his Neapolitan enthusiasm,
his Neapolitan is Neapolitan drive and determination.
Let’s back
up a bit. Just un pochino and learn how
this 31-year young chef made it from a small town in the province of Naples to
one of the hottest cities in the US of A. A ragazzo who has always dreamt of working in
America. A young man who spent 10 years
working in Michelin starred restaurants in Campania such as Le Torre Del
Saracino, Quattro Passi, Taverna Estia, and also worked with Pastry Chef Pasquale
Marigliano. A young man who decided to
make his own way, so to speak.
His American
dream had it’s first stop in Connecticut where he was the head chef of Strega
Restaurant. It was that small town, similar
in size to his hometown, that opened the doors wide open for him to have
opportunities in New York (where he serves as a consultant) and Miami – where he
has made his home for the last 2 years.
Giugliano is
the first to admit that running an Italian restaurant in the states wasn’t
easy. Giugliano serves his pasta al
dente-which many Americans are not used to.
Then serving size. 80 grams of pasta.
Not the 260 to 300 grams that the chef has noticed is often served around town.
At Doma, the
chef also stuck to his guns when it came to the idea of a tasting menu. Slowly, but surely giving his diners the real
Italian/Campania experience. Giugliano is
also faithful to products from Campania – pasta from Gragnano, piennolo
tomatoes, fior di latte and buffalo milk mozzarella are a must on his menu.
So, what can
one find at Doma? Giugliano described to
me some of hi mouth-watering dishes that made me want to book a flight to Miami!
Chef, how
long has Doma been open?
Doma opened
up about 2 ½ years ago, but I arrived 2 years ago due to prior
commitments. At the beginning it was a
little tough because in Miami people are used to a different type of cuisine,
there is, for example, a wide variety of street food. When one thinks of Italian food here, they
think dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs-which is not my idea of Italian
cuisine. My dishes are slightly revisited-
but just a bit. Not at the level of my friends
who are chefs with Michelin stars in Italy.
Not that they have more opportunities/possibilities, but here in Miami I
have to have a higher number of diners, higher turnover of tables.
Sure- he
would love to do more, but at this point, he also understands that he is not in
the small town where he grew up.
The chef
continued- and it was a fantasticaaa opportunity to listen to him describe his
dishes, his cuisine.
We do it
all, fresh pasta, bread, ice cream, sorbets, - every dish has 6/7 elements such
as crunchiness, bitter etc.
I believe
that I can always do more- but then I remember that I live in a city different
from where I grew up.
But that
hasn’t stopped Giugliano- actually, I believe it has given this young Neapolitan
chef to continue to push the envelope – We talked earlier about portion size
and tasting menus. Giugliano told me
that he has about 75% of his diners requesting his tasting menus instead of a la
carte.
It Is not
often that I speak with a chef about his/her menu without having a chance to
taste it for myself. But I was curious,
so I asked Marco about some of his dishes-
He began
with his soft egg. A dish that is
similar to the eggs in purgatory- a dish that his mother makes. A dish which includes an egg cooked at a very
low temperature, Parmigiano Reggiano foam, eggplant cooked in ashes (ten extra
virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper), then a homemade tomato jam (piennolo
tomatoes of course) and eggplant chips.
He tops it of with a basil oil and a little pepper.
Another dish
that he was excited to talk about was a dish that maybe some of us take for
granted. Spaghetti with clams. He has made several versions.
Spaghetti with clams, squid salami Porcini cream and roasted
tarallo with rosemary
His latest stars linguine as the pasta format
with Italian parsley water, mussel broth, cauliflower cream, a garlic bread
crumble.
Giugliano
sticks to his mission of serving pasta al dente -nothing is precooked, which at
times can be a challenge when he has to serve numbers as high as 150 diners per
day. He shares his successes with his
kitchen brigade – a team of 5/6 young cooks who also shares his American dream.
Before ending
our phone call, I was curious about a couple of things. One, being the chef’s idea of serving products
according to their season. Giugliano told
me that he is a stickler for seasonality- he changes 50% of his menu every
three months. Example- a grilled octopus
can be served with pumpkin squash in one season,
peas the next. June is potato and green bean season, so that
is what will accompany his octopus.
It was a
pleasure to chat with Giugliano, not only about his experiences and dishes. It was exciting to see that there are chefs
like Marco Giugliano, Campania chefs, who are fulfilling their dreams, step by
step, without having to compromise their ideas and philosophies of Italian/Campanian
cuisine far away from home.
You can take
the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy.
Photos courtesy of Chef Giugliano.
.jpg)
