Each year, our DaVinci Master Chefs* visit The Center for Discovery® to teach their recipes, based on products right from our Thanksgiving Farm®, to our very own DNA chefs. Our team of chefs learn the recipes and techniques taught by the master chef, which they take back to the residences to prepare in our kitchens. The result? Our culinary team enjoys an educational exchange with leading chefs who not only inspire creativity, but a new skillset, as well.
February’s DaVinci Master Chef is Tony Scotto, an Institute of Culinary Education graduate and former cook and chef for acclaimed restaurant groups such as B&B Hospitality, Altamarea Group, and Fish & Game Group. He started his cooking career at the Hudson House of Nyack for Matt Hudson then upon graduating from culinary school, moved on to work at Lupa Osteria Romana. Afterwards he started as a cook and eventually became the Chef de Cuisine of Del Posto under Executive Chef (James Beard Award Winner) Mark Ladner during which Del Posto was awarded a Michelin Star, 4 Stars from the NYTimes, as well as a James Beard Award for Outstanding Service. After Del Posto, Chef Tony worked as Executive Sous Chef at Campagna at The Bedford Post Inn of Chef Michael White’s Altamarea Group. Afterwards, Chef Tony was the Executive Chef for the Fish & Game Group in Hudson, NY for Zachary Pelaccio (James Beard Award Winner). Throughout the years, Chef Scotto traveled the world cooking for a number of remarkable restaurants and chefs, and opened up restaurants in both Hong Kong and Milan. So it’s not surprise that when it came time to open a place of his own, he went back to his roots – Nyack, NY – where he was born and raised. With pasta as his passion, Tony and his wife founded DPNB Pasta & Provisions, a local pasta shop situated in downtown Nyack that offers homemade fresh pastas, prepared foods, and imported products and provisions sourced from within the Hudson Valley.
We were thrilled to host and spend time with Chef Scotto as he demonstrated his culinary prowess for our team of chefs, while cooking up two distinct recipes – including a melon and cucumber salad with kimchi dressing, and a raw zucchini salad with prosciutto and ginger dressing. At our second event, held on February 28th in our Carrus Café, we invited our entire organization of 1,700 staff to DaVinci Master Chef Series Presents: the Tastes of Tony Scotto to taste his mouthwatering recipes before they were officially rolled out on our seasonal menu for our residents to try.
If you’d like to try to your hand at whipping up Chef Scotto’s featured recipes, you’re in luck! Check out the two recipes below and become a master chef of your own! Bon Appétit!
*The DaVinci Master Chef program at The Center for Discovery® invites acclaimed chefs from around the world to engage with our community here, and to volunteer their time to share their knowledge with our own team of chefs in our Department of Nourishment Arts® (DNA). Through Chef Cesare Casella, Chief of DNA, this program brings together colleagues and masters in the culinary world, who admire the use of fresh food as a therapeutic tool.
For more information about our Department of Nourishment Arts®, or the DaVinci Master Chef Program, please contact Richard Humleker, Vice President of Development, at rhumleker@tcfd.org.