Passion on a Plate: The Culinary Journey of Matthew Cutolo
Editor: Katelyn Kelly
This week on the Maria Liberati Show, we are excited to welcome our guest Matthew Cutolo!
Matthew is a proud chef at his family’s Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. He grew up Italian and shares Italian traditions and stories with all of those who enjoy his wonderful cooking. Although he grew up in Long Island but due to his restaurant and grandparents being in Brooklyn, he was always there. His family owns the restaurant and he is a chef at the restaurant, the third generation of his family carrying traditions along. Matthew loves to keep traditions and Italian dishes alive, as well as teach them to people who don’t know about them.
There were many holidays spent at the restaurant and spent at his grandparents’ house in Brooklyn. His grandparents are first-generation Italian Americans from his family! Matthew’s family is also from Ottaviano and Salair, which Maria Liberati mentions isn’t too far from where her family in Italy is from!
The restaurant’s food and traditions are based in Southern Italy and do holiday traditions every year for celebrations such as Carnival and Christmas. Matthew says, “If there’s a holiday dish, we’re making it.”
Matthew had a story to share on the podcast about his cousin who is a pastry chef, who did not want to share his recipe with anyone. His cousin then told him- “If you want to learn, you have to watch.”
He would then proceed to put ingredients in the bowl, take a lap around the kitchen and talk to someone, come back to add another ingredient and repeat. Matthew was so determined to learn his recipe that he did not lose his focus. After a couple of months, he put all his ingredients in a bowl and did it in front of him. This is how committed Matthew is to his craft, his cooking, and his family traditions.
Maria Liberati then asks Matthew, “What does food mean to you?”
He replies, “Food to me is everything. Like I said- family, friends, gatherings, events, joy, laughter. Just, creativity. Kind of everything, it’s all-encompassing. And you know you can kind of get so caught up in your day-to-day life or running around, but at the end of the day, to come home and sit at the family table, have a meal together, break bread with one another, it’s everything to me.”
Get your copy of the Gourmand World Award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays and Special Occasions-2nd edition.
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