Chefs Kitchen: Recipe tip with Chef Walter Pisano of Tulio Ristorante

Chef's Kitchen

Each month we bring a guest chef into our Chef's Kitchen column to give us tips that elevate their cooking (and hopefully ours). They also provide a recipe that showcases their tips. Our guest chef this month is Executive Chef Walter Pisano of Tulio Ristorante, a longtime Seattle favorite for classic Italian cuisine, located adjacent to the Hotel Vintage Park. Opened in 1992, Chef Pisano named the restaurant after his father, John Tulio Pisano. Entering through antique revolving doors, guests enter a gracious world where rustic Italian fare comes from the depths of family tradition. Antique chandeliers, dark wood accents and cozy booths set the scene for an unforgettable experience. Tulio serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. The menu is updated regularly with fresh, seasonal ingredients. All baked goods, pastas and desserts are created in-house every day.

As the son of a New York restaurateur and part of an East Coast Italian family, there was no other option for Walter but to follow his heart (and stomach). He has been a wonderful asset to the Seattle restaurant scene for many years. Among his many honors, Pisano attended the American Harvest Workshop, an invitation–only culinary event limited to five chefs each year. Locally, Pisano regularly donates his talents to charitable causes, from black–tie events to soup kitchens.

Through traditional apprenticeships, Pisano was trained in classical European cuisine before moving to Seattle, where he helped open The Hunt Club in the Sorrento Hotel. In 1984, Pisano took a culinary tour of Europe, immersing himself in Italian and French cuisines. Appointments that followed included Executive Chef at Bravo Pagliacci, and Sous Chef at Gerard Relais de Lyon restaurant in Bothell, where he met superstar Chef Jean–Louis Palladin. Pisano became the first American to work as sous chef at the prestigious Jean–Louis restaurant at the Watergate in Washington, D.C. In 1992, he returned to Seattle to open Tulio Ristorante. In 2002, Walter took a hiatus to help open another restaurant and traveled extensively to visit restaurants across the country and throughout Italy, returning to Tulio in October 2004.

Pasta perfect, by Executive Chef Walter Pisano

When making your own pasta, it's very important to let the dough rest before cutting. Without a rest, the dough will not be firm enough to make good pasta.

Tulio Ristorante
1100 Fifth Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
206-624-5500

www.tulio.com

Click here to see Executive Chef Walter Pisano's recipe

May 2011

We've worked hard to upgrade this site. Click here to notify us of any problems we need to correct.

SUBSCRIBE FREE

Subscription has its privileges - Each month Seattle DINING! publishes new features on new restaurants, food and beverage news from around the Northwest and special events. Don't miss out on these informative stories.

Sign up today for your FREE subscription and you'll get a notification each month when the new issue comes on line. You'll also be the first to find out about special Seattle DINING! events. What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Click here to sign up now!