4 minute read
NEIGHBORS
from Progress 040322
Scottsdale.org l @ScottsdaleProgress /ScottsdaleProgress
Scottsdale chef nominated for big award
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
Often regarded as being larger than life, hard-nosed and sometimes cantankerous, Chef Giovanni Scorzo is the king of his castle located off of 90th Street and Via Linda.
Owner of Andreoli Italian Grocer, the Italian-born chef has been nominated for the Best Chef-Southwest category of the James Beard Awards.
Whether diners munch on Scorzo’s fresh baked pastries, indulge in fresh-made pasta or gorge on a homemade pizza, Scorzo has been �illing the stomachs of diners looking to taste the best of Italy for over a quarter of a century.
As someone who comes from a family of cooks and who began cooking at age 8, it was not until Scorzo began working in a restaurant at age 11 when he felt what he calls a “slap in the face” and realized he would need to develop a true love of cooking if he wanted to be the best.
“For me, you have to be born with food,” he said. “You have to grow up with the Italian palette, which is what I did.”
After attending culinary school in Italy and working in �ine dining restaurants across his native country, he met someone who would change his life when working at a restaurant in Florence.
The year was 1985 and Linda Rupp was a student at Arizona State University studying abroad in Italy when she received her �irst marriage proposal just four days into the program and �ive minutes after meeting Scorzo, as the story is told.
Scorzo followed her back to Arizona, where they wed.
After tying the knot, Scorzo began looking for work as a chef and eventually had to settle for a job bussing tables as he could not �ind work as a chef at an Italian restaurant. However, he �inally found he could open his own restaurant and did just that with La Bruschetta in 1989.
Riding high off the success of La Bruschetta, Scorzo decided to head to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he opened Babbo Ganzo.
Scorzo quickly realized that running two restaurants in two different states was a tall order and sold La Bruschetta.
He then traveled headed farther west, landing in San Francisco to work at a restaurant called Zingari in San Francisco. The Scorzos later returned home to Scottsdale and opened the upscale Leccabaf�i – which translates to “lick your mustache.”
Leccabaf�i lasted four years, overlapping with Galileo, an Italian bakery where he made fresh pizza dough and focaccia bread and other baked goods. Scorzo left both restaurants behind and took three years to spend time with his family and plot his next venture – giving birth to Andreoli Italian Grocer, which he has owned for the past 13-years. “This makes me happier because it feels more family oriented,” he said. Andreoli combines the feel of a grocery store offering top Italian products and sumptuous baked goods with a cozy, family-friendly restaurant where every single menu item is cooked fresh. “We bake everything here and every day, the specialty menu changes to where I can use my love of cooking,” Scorzo said.
Although freshness is a key component to Scorzo’s cuisine, it is his respect he has for the cuisine that separates his dishes from the rest.
“There is a respect for Italian food,” he said. “But I think that for a real Italian recipe, this is the place.”
“When you do something, you have to be in love,” Scorzo said. “I can stay here for
16-hours a day and it doesn’t bother me. That’s when you know you love something.” The love is reciprocated by his customers, especially for his signature homemade potato gnocchi with tomato pesto, cream and tomato sauce. Despite rave reviews in local, national and Italian press and heralded by celebrities like Alice Cooper, Sam Elliott and Guy Fieri, Scorzo felt surprised when one of his regular customers broke the news that he had been nominated for the James Beard Awards. The awards recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system, as well as a demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability and a culture where all can thrive and is considered to be among the nation’s most prestigious honors. “On a Thursday, I was sitting in the restaurant and a customer who comes in about four or �ive times a week told me ‘congratulations,’” Scorzo said. “I asked, ‘for what?’ and they told me I was in the paper Chef Giovanni Scorzo has earned a stellar reputa- for the James Beard award and explained to tion at his Scottsdale restaurant. (David Minton/Progress me what it is.” Staff Photographer) Win or lose the award, Scorzo and his family appreciate the recognition and plan to keep feeding hungry customers inside what he considers his palace at Andreoli Italian Grocer. “My family and I are grateful to have been nominated but no matter what, everything will stay the same at the restaurant,” “For me, I win with my food every day. For me, I’m the best and if people don’t think that that’s OK. This year’s James Beard Awards winners are slated to be announced from June 11 through June 13 in Chicago.
