Chopped champion and executive chef Gianfranco Franzese says learning to cook in his native Italy set the stage for culinary and tv success

by Susan Keag • Photos by Donato DiCamillo

For Gianfranco Franzese, being challenged in the kitchen is nothing unusual. In his native Italy, a culinary dilemma was just another day at work.

“I worked all over Italy,” said Franzese, executive chef and co-owner of Pasticerria Bruno in West Brighton. “I came from restaurants where there were no menus at all. The chef decided [the menu]…..People would come out and dine and the chef would tell you what was available for the day.” As a chef, Franzese said, “It was challenging.”

This background offered a great deal of experience and made him an shoe-in on Food Network’s Chopped, a show he was encouraged to audition for by his three children: Laura, 15; Frank, 12; and Julia, 10. While the kids, along with his wife of 23 years, Angela, are his biggest fans, it was the judges and others who work on the show who were surprised at just how good this man was at keeping cool in the face of pressure.

When Franzese competed back in 2012, several people asked him, “How come you’re not nervous?” as he and other contestants were challenged to quickly decide how to utilize and prepare often unconventional ingredients given to them to hopefully create a culinary masterpiece.

His response, he recalled, was simply, “I’m used to this.” He won a $10,000 prize as the Chopped Champion, and donated a large portion of the winnings to the Diabetes Foundation, as his son had been diagnosed a few years earlier with Type 1 Diabetes.

Prior to Chopped, Franzese had competed in other competitions across the world, including Canada, Germany, and Italy, and in that last nation he and his team captured two firstplace medals during the International Culinary Expo in 2004. The team, in which Franzese served as captain, showcased its creativity, particularly for a surf-and-turf dish in which they created a stuffed rabbit and stuffed shrimp dish. “It was an unusual combination,” he recalled, smiling. “It was the one that took us over the top.”

The chef likes a challenge in just about any kitchen environment. While his menu is “Italian comfort cuisine,” featuring pasta dishes as well as sandwiches, salads, and a host of entrees, he does like to mix things up a bit from time to time.

In fact, Franzese recently revamped his menu to include new creations such as Beets and Finocchio—roasted beets and shaved fennel salad with a lemon garlic dressing and served with grilled shrimp and goat cheese. Bucatini, a pasta dish baked in terracotta with bacon, cherry tomato, zucchini, melted mozzarella, and basil, was also added, along with a “Meatball Extravaganza,” featuring three different types of meatballs. The secret to a successful business, Franzese said, is adding new dishes to the menu while nurturing old favorites. At Pasticceria Bruno, some of those staples include the stuffed veal and Fresca salad, featuring fresh fruit.

“The favorites are there but you always need to explore new things to make sure new customers keep coming,” he said. Trying to keep them all happy is not an easy part of any chef’s job. That task, along with the long hours, can make the job very difficult, said Franzese, who has worked at other local popular eateries such a Café Del Mondo, Bocelli Ristorante, and Villa Portofino, as well as Chianti’s in Brooklyn. In fact, he remembers his mother—who first sparked his interest in cooking when he was just a young boy—working with her in the kitchen while warning him about the sacrifices a chef makes.

“She’d say, ‘Everyone else is out enjoying the party and the chef is the kitchen,’” he recalled. “The work means a lot of sacrifice.” That’s wisdom he’s passed along to others, too, including his younger partner, Pasticceria co-owner and pastry chef Salvatore Settepani, and even culinary students, such as those he’s worked with at schools like Tottenville.

The sacrifices all seem worth it, however, when the diners are satisfied. “I can have the most stressful day….and a customer comes up to me and says ‘We’ve just had the most wonderful meal,’” Franzese said with a smile. “It makes the stress fly away…makes all the work worth it…and I’m ready for another day.”

Pasticerria Bruno
1650 Hylan Blvd. / 718.987.5859
676 Forest Ave. / 718.448.0993 / pasticceriabruno.com