Tony Grande opened his first restaurant in clifton in 1976 when “authentic italian” was a fresh concept in new jersey. now he and his fare are legendary
by Jessica Jones-Gorman • Photos by Robert Nuzzie
After developing a passion for food in his native Calabria, Tony Grande attended culinary school in Italy and worked as first chef at Hotel Europa in Foppolo, chef de partie at La Fenice in Venice, and first chef in the Hotel Piccolo in Lago de Garda before joining the gourmet crew of a transatlantic cruise liner.
“That was in 1967,” the seasoned chef said, detailing a professional lifetime in the culinary arts. “I worked on several boats, traveled all over the world, and was taught how to be strong and careful in the kitchen. It’s a difficult place to cook; you have to work quickly under sometimes challenging conditions.”
After working for a few years on a number of different ships, Grande joined the Italian Navy and worked in a submarine before coming to the United States in 1973.
“I took a job as a chef in an Italian restaurant before opening my own place in Clifton which I called Bel’vedere,” he said. “It was a difficult transition for me because in 1976, real, authentic Italian food was not that popular. The American consumer was just not ready for it. People wanted Italian-American food and believe it or not, I felt very uncomfortable cooking that.”
But Grande found a compromise and included some Italian American dishes on his menu. The concept proved so popular that after owning the Bel’vedere for eight years, he needed to expand to a bigger space, so then came Il Capriccio in Whippany in 1984, and the authentic Italian dishes he was so proud of were really able to shine.
“By that time people had started to become knowledgeable about different cuisines,” Grande said. “Customers were traveling more and their palates had become a little more refined. It made it much easier for us to serve authentic Italian food that people loved and respected.”
Thirty years later, Grande’s restaurant remains one of the Garden State’s most reputable gourmet eateries.
“The authenticity of each dish starts with only the best olive oil, best tomatoes, best balsamic vinegar,” Grande said. “You can get olive oil from all over Europe that’s both good and bad; you can use tomatoes imported from Italy that are not completely perfect; you can cook with Pecorino Romano instead of the beautifully delicate Parmigiano-Reggiano—but those inconsistencies will change your recipe completely. If you want your meal to be completely authentic, you have to make sure that your ingredients are the best around.”
Since 2008, Grande and his wife Clara have been supplying those authentic ingredients to customers at their specialty Italian gourmet grocery, La Famiglia. The store offers savory panini, domestically and internationally imported meats and cheeses, delectable desserts baked by Clara and her daughter Teresa, plus the family’s own food brand, The Flying Meatballs.
While Grande says he cannot pinpoint one signature dish that’s his specialty (“There are too many to choose from; I love cooking each and every one”), he does name whole roasted Mediterranean Sea Bass as a customer favorite.
“We cook the entire fish and clean it in front of the customer,” Grande said. “It’s not available on Saturday nights because it is a lot of work and takes a lot of time to serve.”
And even though the chef says the industry has changed drastically since he started his career (“I used to travel to New York to get wild sea bass from Europe, now I have it delivered daily; we used to only have 20 varieties of fine Italian wine, now there are thousands”), the bottom line is still all about crafting a delicious meal.
“I still love to put a plate in front of someone and see that happy face,” Grande concluded. “Whether I’m cooking a fine gourmet dinner or making something as simple as a sandwich, food is like music to me, it has a harmony. With the right ingredients and passion, it’ll hit all the right notes.”
Il Capriccio
633 NJ-10, Whippany / 973.884.9175 / ilcapriccio.com