Chef Anthony Susi

 

Chef  Anthony Susi has a passion to prepare food that is modern and experimental yet still approachable in style.  His culinary career took him through the kitchens of Davide in Boston and The Shawmut Inn in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Chef Susi traveled to Italy to discover Italian cooking in his parents’ hometown of Sulmona in the Abruzzi region.  On to San Francisco, in the kitchens of Campton Place Hotel and the Grand Café. 

Chef  Susi spent over two years at Olives where he diligently worked under Chef Todd English.  Ever eager to refine his culinary artistry; at Restaurant Zinc is where Susi absorbed refined French cooking styles. In 1999, Susi added proprietor to his title after purchasing Sage Restuarant.

Over the past seven years, Sage Restaurant has received many accolades including Boston Magazine, Boston Globe, The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, Travel & Leisure and in 2004, Chef Susi was named a “Rising Star” by Star Chefs.

 
Chef Anthony Susi began his culinary career in Boston, MA, where today he successfully owns and operates the nationally acclaimed Sage Restaurant. Once named a “Rising Star” by Star Chefs, Chef Susi fine tuned his culinary style on both the east and west coasts of America as well as in his parents’ hometown in the Abruzzi region of Italy. 

Q: Many people have fond memories of cooking either with friends or family.  What is your dearest pasta memory?  
A:  I am a first generation Italian-American and pasta is always a staple item especially at the big family gatherings; there are too many to count.


Q: What pasta cut do you prefer cooking with?
A:  Personal favorites are rigatoni & pasta chitarra.

Q: Pasta is such a flexible food medium.  What do you think is the best thing about cooking with pasta?
A: For me pasta is all about shape and texture, with that you can apply any sauce or flavor with right pasta.

Q: Of all the pasta dishes you cook, which one do you think people enjoy the most?
A:  Handmade gnocchi. 

Q:  What is your all-time favorite pasta dish? 
A:  Simple pasta chitarra with meat ragu that my mother makes.

Q:  What do you think it is about pasta that makes people like it so much?
A:  It’s simple comfort food that can be elegant at the same time.

Q:  A lot of people don’t realize how many ways you can use pasta in your everyday cooking.  Do you have any tips for enjoying pasta more at home?
A:  Try anything at least once, invite friends…

Q:  What do you think are the qualities of a good brand of pasta?
A:  It does not break, holds an aldente texture when cooked properly.

Q:  What’s your “pasta philosophy”?
A:  Don’t eat too much; you will be on the couch the rest of the day and you won’t be able to make love to your spouse!

Q:  Imagine you've been banished to a deserted island and can only bring one kind of pasta.  Which cut would you take with you and why?
A:  Does this island grow tomatoes & basil?