I'm Going to Miami, Chef Marco Giugliano, Doma Restaurant, Miami, Florida

 

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.

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Un post condiviso da Marco Giugliano (@chef_marcogiugliano)

 

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.

 

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Un post condiviso da Marco Giugliano (@chef_marcogiugliano)

Photos courtesy of Chef Giugliano.