Today we’d like to introduce you to RENATO SOLPIETRO.
Hi RENATO, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family is very into food, as you can imagine in Southern Italy (Naples). We grew up stealing morsels out of the kitchen because we just couldn’t wait until lunch, it smelled too good. My mother is a Michelin-starred chef; she just never left her kitchen. My uncle opened a few restaurants in Italy, I started helping him out pretty young, he also got flown over to San Fran to revamp an Italian restaurants. The food is like a religion in my home, still today. My brother is the fresh fish pro, he lives near the port so he gets to experiment a lot. Conversation in my revolves a lot round the food, and the table. When I moved to Rome at 24 I started cooking more for myself and my friends, everyone was always a my place to eat. I found that working in a restaurant with the heavy stress and no time for slow food was not my thing; I like to take my time, listen to nice music, sip some wine and enjoy the cooking process.
When my wife and I met in Rome in 2009 (she is from Portland, Oregon) we started our tour company, A&R Tours Italy. We started to offer special dinners and cooking classes at our home in Rome and it seemed to be the most popular review that we got! Then we started coming back to Portland for the summers and some of our tour clients from Italy who lived in Portland, asked if I would teach them how to make gnocchi. I saw how much fun it was for them to cook with me, listen to my stories about food and Italy and eat together. It was a natural cross over for our 2 businesses, and then the word of mouth took off. My wife and I staretd doing more private dinners at people’s homes, and that was amazing. I can take my time with the prep work, I can make people’s favorite Italian dishes, and sometimes they cry in the meatballs because they havent’ tastes some like that since their late grandma. I love to make my tablemates happy, and they give me great satisfaction by enjoying so much.
Now it has been 15 years, and my fan club has grown a lot. I am on the morning news shows in the summer inPortland making food and chatting about my recipes and life in Italy. I open for summer bookings in January and by the spring my weekends are full, it’s so fun to have repeat customers every summer. Some people want the exact same menu and some want to try new dishes each time. I really love this way of cooking in your home so it is an intimate experience.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In the beginning we had to work at tall the farmers markets to get our name out. I remember my wife 8 months pregnant with our 2nd daughter, and she was helping me set up and cook all morning; but it wasn;t easy! Everyone wanted the heavy breakfast burrito at the Lake Osewgo farmers market, but we had the high-end calamari and we weren’t even breaking eve. That market did introduce us to some very loyal clients.
I also had a stand at the Italian Festa in Pioneer Square for a couple of years. those were 3, 12 hour days and we were cooking for the masses, so I did not love it, I like to use top ingredients. The paperwork was insane, and my American wife had to buy a lot of permits and safety equipment. I was using a kitchen in our friend’s restaurant near the plaza and I remember pushing a giant food warming oven down Broadway! We had our whole family help work those festas, aunts, uncles, neighbors, friends, anyone who could help out a couple hours here and there.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My cooking classes are more than that, they are a show, a history lesson, a cultural exchange . I give an experience. I am known for my pizza class, fresh made pasta class, and people go crazy for my lasagna and homemade limoncello. I am proud that i made it and I’m doing what I really love. I am probably the only Italian who does this in Oregon. I come to your house with everything, you don’t need to worry about a thing.
I cook as Organic as possible almost 100%, Specialties directly from Italia like Wild boar guanciale from
Umbria, pancetta, dried porcini mushrooms from Tuscany, flour
00 from Naples, Parmigiano 40 months aged from Parma….only
for us! 😉 We use local, seasonal, organic products when possible.
The menus can vary but all of it is Italian 100% ! I cook like an Italian
grandmother! Lots of the recipes in fact are from my family!
No matter what menu you will choose, there are always surprises for you and your
guests!
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I am very outgoing; patient and I connect very quickly with people. I worked in many club med when I was younger, so I can make a crowd happy
Pricing:
- 125 per person for a Cooking class
- 125 per person for a Classic enu
- Superior Menu 179 usd per person:
- Deluxe Menu 240 usd per person:
- SUITE Menu 280 usd per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.italianprivatechef.com
- Facebook: Renato ItalianChef
