Best Chef Midwest, James Beard Foundation, 2005

Author, The Spiaggia Cookbook – Eleganza Italiana in Cucina

Green, fruity olive oil, rare Italian cheeses, woodsy porcini mushrooms. The riches of Italian gastronomy are child’s play for a guy like Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia’s four-star chef who is known not only in Chicago, but also across the country as a culinary force to be reckoned with. Over the last two decades, Mantuano has been thrilling Windy City diners with the most delicious Italian and Mediterranean fare to be enjoyed this side of Sardinia.

In anticipation of Spiaggia’s opening, Mantuano spent a year in Italy in 1983, learning all he could about traditional Italian cooking. He worked at a number of notable, Guide Michelin-rated restaurants near Milan – including Dal Pescatore in Canetto Sul’Oglio, Albergo del Sole in Maleo, Al Bersagliere in Goito and Da Romano on the Tuscan coast in Viareggio. He learned to perfect regional specialties that few Americans had ever experienced.

When Spiaggia first opened in 1984, Mantuano was widely acclaimed as a trailblazer of fine Italian cuisine. William Rice of the Chicago Tribune called it “the best high-end Italian restaurant between the coasts.” Many others shared his opinion. Food & Wine magazine followed suit, naming Mantuano to its prestigious list of “Best New Chefs” in 1986.

In 1990, Mantuano left Spiaggia to open Mangia Trattoria in his native Kenosha, Wisc. which today remains one of the area’s top restaurants. He then followed with Tuttaposto, which faithfully represented dishes from countries around the Mediterranean. Wine Spectator, Gourmet and The New York Times heralded the trendsetting Tuttaposto as one of Chicago’s – and the nation’s – most innovative, ambitious and original restaurants.

Six years later, the launch of Mantuano’s next Windy City restaurant venture, Mediterranean Table, would continue showcasing Chef Tony’s love for creating fine Italian food, and ensure his stream of national recognition.

Mantuano was lured back to the Spiaggia kitchen in 2000. He quickly reshaped the restaurant’s traditional menu into an exemplar of contemporary Italian cuisine. Signature dishes such as Crescenza cheese- filled pasta pillows with Parmigiano-Reggiano, brown butter, rosemary and garlic, and a succulent roasted turbot with sun choke pureé, porcini mushrooms and veal mushroom sauce have become guest favorites. Under Mantuano’s direction, Spiaggia also unveiled Chicago’s first Cava di Stagionatura: a climate controlled cheese cave that houses as many as 45 artisanal varieties from Italian producers, cared for by the city’s first full-time formaggiaio, or cheese expert.

Under Chef Mantuano’s culinary leadership, Spiaggia continues to fly way above the radar. The James Beard Foundation named Mantuano “Best Chef Midwest” in 2005, and also nominated the restaurant in the “Outstanding Service” category in 2005, and “Outstanding Restaurant” in 2006. In a May 2006 re-review, the Chicago Tribune’s Dining Critic, Phil Vettel, reaffirmed Spiaggia as Chicago’s only Four-Star Italian dining destination: “It was an exhilarating evening abetted by flawless and highly personable service…Mantuano continues to redefine the Italian experience while maintaining a devotion to tradition.” Dining Critic Jeffrey Steingarten of VOGUE stated in the September 2005 issue “…I chose lunchtime at Spiaggia, when Cafe Spiaggia was open. I’m planning a full-scale return visit to Spiaggia – Four-Star Italian restaurants are rare in this country.” And in the July 2006 issue of Esquire magazine, acclaimed food and wine writer John Mariani credited Chef Mantuano with leading “one of the top five restaurants in the U.S.”

Chef Mantuano has appeared nationally on CNN, PBS and the Food Network, and is a regular contributor to the local CBS, NBC, ABC, CW and FOX affiliates in Chicago, and has been a guest on popular syndicated food talk shows such as the Frank DeCaro Show and Food Talk with Rocco DiSpirito. He can be found coast-to-coast leading cooking classes and demonstrations – from DeGustibus at Macy’s in New York’s Herald Square to San Francisco’s popular Ferry Market. He also serves on the Freschetta™ Culinary Council with four other leading U.S. chefs.

Mantuano is the author, with co-author Cathy Mantuano, of The Spiaggia Cookbook – Eleganza Italiana in Cucina. Published by Chronicle Books and released in December 2004, it was chosen as one of the twenty-five best cookbooks of 2004 by Food & Wine magazine and was nominated for “Best Cookbook Photography” in 2005 by the James Beard Foundation.

In 2007, Mantuano, in partnership with Larry Levy, will open the much-anticipated Enoteca Spiaggia in South Beach, Fla. Additionally, Mantuano and co-author Cathy Mantuano are currently at work on their second cookbook, sharing their experienced opinions, suggestions and recipes around entertaining - wine bar-style. (Clarkson Potter, December 2007).