Cesare Lanfranconi

That was a food show in Atlantic City and cooking at the James Beard house in N.Y. City back to back. Buy a pasta machine, allocate some half days to it, throw in all your passion and dedication, and come to the cooking classes I do here at Tosca, I'll give you a bunch of recipes, and show you how to make them; don't forget to get some good vino to help you keep company while you are cooking at home. For pomodoro I use imported plum 'San Marzano' tomatoes in can now, fresh in the summer. thank you guys for having me, it is been a pleasure ciao Cesare

the one that you'll cook with love. I like a lot of simple pastas: fresh tomato and basil; pesto; aglio, olio e peperoncino; carbonara...

My philosophy and strategy is to observe and go with the seasons; from the farms around the area, I use a lot of peas and asparagus in late spring... a lot of tomatoes during summer... (I don’t use any during winter), only when they are at the peak of flavor and season, so the flavor is maximized and the high price tag is not 'that' high. The pre-theater menu it is a good way to save a few bucks, another couple of suggestions: Split your portions (they are to big anyways) so you can also taste different things; drink water, is very good for you system, is not mandatory to drink expensive beverages at any meal. The bar it is a fabulous option for those same reasons. 1) my restaurant did suffer, indeed, just like the rest of the industry and the rest of the world; fortunately, soon after, the good spirit of the majority of the people prevailed over all the bad vibes going around in that period. 2) restaurant week it is a very good promotion for the whole industry, it benefits directly and indirectly restaurants and patrons, as long that it is done properly with the right amount of efforts, hospitably and seriously; what's best than showcase your establishment to a large amount of people, that they can potentially come back to the restaurants; I see it as a win - win situation. 3) I think that's a smart choice, I'm not against it, at all. 4)I have to get back to you on that, right now I think it is not functioning properly, the energy on the field are not channeled in the right way. thanks for having me ciao Cesare

I had a big experience at Galileo, both as sous chef and executive chef, a lot of work, a lot of satisfactions, a lot of fun both with Roberto and Todd, the majority of the times it was a high energy and stimulating team work environment. I worked as if it was my restaurant, I've always work as hard as I can. My cooking style it developed since I've born, if I was not cooking I was in contact or exposed to the many good foods, producers and restaurants in Italy or abroad. I've always knew one day I would open my own place with my own ideas and coracter; I've always tried to work in the best places possible in order to learn how to do so; Galileo was very important because it allow me to first explore, then learn the American system and Washington’s restaurants community.

Dear rhodegirl, I make up the menu at the chef table the same day, I base my decisions upon a progression of flavors and temperatures, availability, seasons, and I usually use dishes that I'm working on to go on the new menu; really, as it come that same day! You can find more info on the farmland feast and fresh farm market at: www.freshfarmmarket.org Ciao and thanks for the compliments, Cesare

Caro Alberto, to start, I like to point out that cooking Italian food here in the States or in Italy is about the same; starting from a stand point where we take for granted that the knowledge and education of a chef are proper, you can source basically any ingredient, we just have to make sure that passion for food, dedication and intensity are commune practices so the difference is minimal. In your view, what are these pros and cons when talking about Italian cooking? Does the expectations of the general public in Italy sometimes feel a bit tight, so to say, for a chef with new ideas? Grazie! ← I think, Ideal is the situation where you learn from traditions and you build over it. Not productive is not counting on passed experiences, or even worst, not been flexible and put your self in a position were you get stuck and are not able to make progress as a professional and/or individual in the business. In Europe, some times (less and less every day), you find a little of resistance from the costumers and restaurant people, upon innovations or modifications, with good reasons: to preserve the integrity of the traditions, and as long as it is not extremism, it is a very important cause. In the States, changes are more accepted; some times it is important been able to absorb, learn and use new things (techniques, ingredients, pairings etc.) for advancement, as long as it is not extremism. Another major difference is in 'the service' that we provide in our business: In Europe it is much more professional, there are schools and everything; the system here in the states is much different, it tends to be more casual, there is not enough formal education and the majority of it is tough on the 'field'. Ciao Cesare

Chef Cesare, I assure you this was meant as constructive. Your reply showcases why I keep coming back to Tosca -- the pride you put into your cooking and your dedication to customer service. Your point about speaking up at the time is well taken. It was a slight difference between the new and the classic star dishes on the second or third night of the new menu. It made me wonder. That's it. It was a wonderful evening where I was able to catch up with good friends over a nice meal, attentive service, and a sommelier who graciously helped this budget-minded threesome select an interesting wine without feeling self-conscious. Your commitment to seasonal, organic ingredients is commendable because of the connection to time and place it provides to the diner, at least this diner. I expect you'll see me enjoying a bowl of your pumpkin soup with rabbit sausage at the bar quite often this fall. ← thank you, looking forward to see you soon at the restaurant to indulge in some solid fall foods. ciao Cesare

hey there Morela, glad to see that you can recognize a good piece of work of art, that picture it is beautiful indeed, just like daddy's little girls too. ciao Cesare

congratulation Joe proud daddy (to the mother too), red sauces confort food: filomena, pasta mia, sette go out and find some more... looking forward to see you and your little one, I hope to see you before four years. Ciao Cesare

let me tell ya! Culinary schools in Italy have a curriculum that includes some classic French cuisine. that all happened at the beginning of the twentieth century with Mr. Auguste Escoffier, a very talented chef, curious researcher and gentleman who decided to write a book that includes all the culinary advancement at the time plus a whole lot more including his own experiments and experience; to that time, haute cuisine was still only for the very few rich and nobles. Mr. Escoffier toke credit to himself and to French cuisine even if a good number of the dishes and main preparations were Italian's; the all point is that that book (regarded by many as the bible of classic French cuisine) was instrumental for culinary advancement and help a great deal to take all of us to the level that we are now; unfortunately Italian cuisine at that time did got denuded to benefit French cuisine, and to help progress. Schools in Italy they teach predominantly traditional Italian cuisine; the rest of the information’s and experience you'll pick up by doing it, and since Italians are always among the most active in research and advancement in any field, there is a lot more to learn (after your formal education). Ciao Cesare

you are in the right trak, just go very light with the spices; vanilla beans works very good too, dont live those in to the marmelade to long (use a piece of cheese cloth to wrap the spices and remove after 45 min.). best C

Thank you for compliments and complaint (they are very important too, as long as they are intended as constructive criticism). I'm not trying to come up with any excuses; I take full responsibility, both for the menu and flows. I like to make a consideration: I think is a costumer duty to inform immediately the manager or the chef, if a dish or else inside the restaurant is not up to standards, or there is a legitimate problem; so they have the chance to solve the problem or make a new dish, bottle of wine... Nobody in this world is perfect, but I guarantee you that my staff and I work very hard, every day, to get as close as possible to make it memorable for you and for our own pride. A new menu it should be shining from the first moment is presented. I will be happy to personally cook and go trough the new menu with you next time you'll be at Tosca (202-3671990). Best regards Cesare

Hi there, one of the most important things is to use fresh asparagus, in season. Cook them for a very brief amount of time and overall, use the best ingredients possible: Carnaroli is the best rice for risotto, nice and tasty chicken stock, local asparagus, good imported Parmesan cheese, good vino and lots of love. You’ll have a nice risotto then… Tomato is a fruit; in this case it is all about perceptions. But using tomatoes in a sweet preparation works as well as a savory one. Other savories that are used in sweet preparations are: Parmigiano cheese for gelato, white truffles for gelato or sweet custards…

Start with easy and fun things, like making pizza, fruit salads, simple pasta sauces and keep it casual, but do it often – every day.

I can’t agree more – I hate to kids menus with a bunch of fried foods on them. The kids camps have been going great, thank you. It’s never too early or too late to enroll children in the camp (ages 4-12 y.o.) You have to approach the issue as gently and as casually as possible. What I do with my daughters – I challenge them and cook the particular ingredients with the best recipes I know or go to a good restaurant and try different things on the same theme. If you can not persuade them, don’t make it a big deal and go back to the subject after a period of time, say – six months. Young people are hungry for both knowledge and food; they are very much interested in cooking and food, as I experienced with in my kids camp as well as with my own daughters. I’m trying very hard to change the way we feed our kids, with food and information – I invite all of the foodies in this forum and beyond to try to change things with me to give a better education to our kids at the academic level so we won’t have any more kids menus with unhealthy foods and habits, and so on…(next vacation, make it a culinary trip!)

Thank you for the compliments, Wow – this is a great topic for a book! I’ll try to be as short as possible… Italian food in America and Italian food in Italy; they have differences indeed - Just consider the access to resources. Particularly, access to fresh produce and foods in general, with relative differences in prices & availability based on transportation, etc., It makes sense to use the local, indigenous products of a region to maximize flavor. Sometimes it is challenging but it is always exciting using new products to create new contemporary dishes and share new techniques to explore different territories. But, (be careful), in order to uphold the integrity of classic Italian cuisine, I personally think that it is imperative to start with solid bases and knowledge, and I always strive to maintain at least 50% of my menus as traditional as possible. This is part of my philosophy. Unfortunately, there are a number of improvised chefs and restaurateurs that are not prepared enough to keep up with the same philosophy and move in a totally different direction, that goes far away from what is the tradition of Italian cuisine. You have to keep up with culinary news globally - to keep up with the speed of progress. I think that fine dining in the States is more fast-paced and productivity-oriented. In Europe, fine dining is more tied to the traditions; with pros and cons in either situation. There is an “American cuisine;” it is very vigorous and upcoming, mainly because it has a big advantage of being able to combine different ethnicities and techniques to allow American cuisine to be one of the most exciting in our era. But (be careful,) it needs to be done with knowledge and consideration of the classic tradition of other cuisines.

hi folks, thank you for having me; and thank you Don for you assistance to make this happen. to start I like to make a parentesys: been an avid skier, as soon I see the word ski, or Alberto Tomba, I cannot say nothing; Don, there is no song or an individual that can diminish the greatness and accomplishment of 'la Bomba', that's all I have to say; now let's keep going and stick to our forum. I do find it annoying that people confuse us with La Tasca, but it is just a small inconvenience. I wish all problems were of such a small magnitude. The restaurant Tosca is actually named after my eldest daughter, who is 10. She was named Tosca because it is a very classic Italian name (not necessarily after the opera.)