Portrait of a Chef

FABIO VIVIANI

PORTRAIT OF A Chefby KATHRYN O’MALLEY

Americans while competing on Season 5 of Top Chef, where his gregarious personality and charming sense of humor made him an all-time fan favorite. Now, in partnership with DineAmic’s Lucas Stoioff and David Rekhson (the duo behind Public House and Bull & Bear), Viviani is about to launch his third restaurant thus far—and the first in Chicago.

Opening February 15, Siena Tavern will bring rustic Italian fare and sleek décor to a cool steel building in the heart of River North. Diners can look forward

to Neapolitan pizzas, house-made pastas, and even some recipes from Viviani’s mom.

We recently sat down with the star chef to ask him a few questions posed by our previously featured chef, Gale Gand. And with his thick Italian accent and trademark wit, Viviani answered.

The antidote to cold winter nights: Viviani’s Beef and Barley Soup

Well, the reality is that the kitchen chose me way before TV did. I was eleven years old, I had to find a job to help my family bring the money in the household, and the restaurant business was the only business where I could find someone willing to employ me, as an eleven-year-old child. That’s how I ended up in the kitchen. And TV is not that glamorous, trust me! I’d rather be in the restaurant business.

if you weren’t a chef and could choose again, what would you do or be?

If I weren’t a chef, I would be something really badass. Like a jet fighter pilot or a veterinarian, which is really badass. It’s not like, manly, like a jet fighter pilot, but it’s a very nice, very cute profession. Or, I would be a brain surgeon; I like to mess with people’s brains a lot.

who are your biggest culinary influences?

No one knows about him, so this answer will be very short. His name is Simone Mugnaini, who was my business partner and the chef I worked for when I was a young kid. I spent about twelve years of my life listening to whatever he said on the restaurant business, and if I have a grain of success in that business today, it’s thanks to him.

what’s your favorite ingredient to work with?

Wow, that’s like picking your favorite child! We all know you have one, but you can’t say or your wife is gonna get pissed off. So the reality is that I have to say three, I can’t just pick one: Parmesan, balsamic vinegar, and pork. Anything pork.

what’s your favorite late-night snack?

Roasted chicken. I’m Italian! You always make more chicken than you need, you leave it in the freezer, and at nighttime you pop a piece in the microwave for thirty seconds, it gets hot, and you just peel it off the bone. I don’t have corn dogs, I don’t have those packaged snacks. Leftover food from dinner is my midnight snack. When I travel and I can’t eat leftovers because they go bad, I have a jar of Nutella always available. So I eat Nutella with my fingers. You know the whole concept of farm-to-table? For me, Nutella is finger-to-mouth.

what’s the story with the turtles?

Here’s the deal. I am moving from Italy in 2006; I have no friends, I don’t speak English, I’m by myself. And I’m also busy during the day working at the restaurant. But I am a very caring person and I love animals. Can I get a dog? Not really, because you gotta take care of a dog as much as a child. Can I get a cat? Eh, that’s alright, I haven’t had great history with cats. So I said, you know, whatever—I ’m going to get something. Goldfish is not exciting. So I said you know what, I’ll get a turtle. I want a turtle. So what I did was get a little red-eared slider. And a turtle is more animated than a fish. She climbs on the rocks, she does a little sunbathing, she goes back in the water, she plays. And I love animals. So I got a turtle; that was my very first pet in the United States. She is still with me, now she’s 3½ pounds. She’s a big pet and she has a personality. People say ‘oh whatever, it’s a turtle.’ But she has a personality. And now I have a pond in my backyard with a bunch of turtles.