SHAPED BY SICILIAN TRADITION AND GLOBAL KITCHENS, ANGELINA’S EXECUTIVE CHEF APPROACHES HIS ROLE NOT AS A REINVENTION, BUT AS A COMMITMENT – TO FLAVOR, TECHNIQUE, AND THE CONTINUITY OF A LONG-TREASURED FAMILY OF RESTAURANTS
BY EMMA FLOYD PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO
After more than a decade sharpening his craft in kitchens across multiple continents, Chef Vincenzo Galia now finds himself in a role anchored in stewardship. Since arriving at Angelina’s in 2018, Galia has served as head chef across all three locations, overseeing consistency, technique, and menu development while staying true to the restaurant’s identity, which has been part of the Staten Island dining scene for an incredible four decades.
“I arrived at an iconic restaurant,” he said. “My job is to bring technique and consistency, but always stay true to what Angelina’s has already established.”
At 34, Galia has spent 13 years traveling and working in restaurants around the world, but he remains deeply proud of his roots. He grew up in Licata, a small town in Sicily, in a family of four where food was central to everyday life. His mother’s father was a fisherman, his father’s father farmed grains and seasonal vegetables, and both of his grandmothers were known for their home-cooked meals.
“Good food and good flavors were always around me,” he said. “That’s been part of my life since I was a little kid.”
He began working in restaurants at just 14 as a busboy, and soon after he entered culinary school, where he trained in traditional Sicilian cooking and the preparation of classic dishes and other regional staples. As he built experience in kitchens across Sicily, Galia felt drawn to opportunities beyond his hometown. “I wanted to discover the world outside my country,” he added.
At 19, he moved to Australia, where he trained under an esteemed French chef and took up work in Sydney kitchens that emphasized both fine-dining techniques and careful ingredient selection. It was there, he explained, that he learned to build dishes from the ground up.
“You start with the main ingredient a protein and then you build the dish around that,” he said. “Freshness and quality come first.”
Over the years, Galia worked alongside chefs from Brazil, Asia, and across Europe, absorbing techniques and perspectives from kitchens that operated very differently. Some of the most influential lessons, he noted, came from unexpected places.
“I remember one time, during breakfast service, I was poaching two or three eggs at a time,” he said. “The Chef de Partie, 18 years old and from Thailand, offered me a gentle suggestion, and later I was poaching 22 eggs at once without breaking a single one. You learn from everyone.”
By the end of 2017, Galia began preparing to relocate once again, arriving in New York in July of 2018. Soon after, he joined the kitchen at Angelina’s, eventually becoming head chef and taking on responsibility across all three locations.
Today, his role is rooted not in rewriting tradition, but in refining it. Rather than replacing classic dishes, Galia focuses on execution, technique, and consistency, using modern tools to protect and enhance familiar flavors.
“The real goal is to keep the traditional recipes,” he said. “You can use new equipment and new techniques, but the flavor has to stay authentic.”
He points to dishes like a semolina-based pasta as an example of where updated methods allow for more precision while preserving the character of the original recipe. For Galia, technique is not separate from taste it shapes it directly.
“Knife skills, temperature, timing all of that changes the flavor,” he said. “Even when the recipe stays the same, the technique makes a difference.”
That philosophy also shapes how he leads his kitchen. Galia places strong emphasis on teaching, tasting, and explaining the reasoning behind decisions, from why certain herbs pair with specific meats to when olive oil should be used instead of butter.
“We don’t just cook,” he said. “We talk about why we do things. That’s how people really learn.”
He also acknowledges that the restaurant industry itself has changed dramatically since he got his start, with new technologies and equipment transforming the way kitchens operate. Still, he believes that strong fundamentals remain essential, regardless of tools. At the core of his work,Galia said, is a simple motivation: seeing guests enjoy the food.
“I’m passionate about food, but I’m just as passionate about seeing the customer satisfied,” he said. “That’s always the goal.”
Behind the long hours and demanding schedules, Galia credits his wife as his strongest source of support. The daughter of a chef herself, Viviana understands the realities of kitchen life, and together they now have a three-year-old daughter.
“She has always supported me,” he said. “She’s my first fan.”
After years of relocation and study, today Galia is focused on continuity honoring tradition, guiding his team, and sustaining a restaurant that holds meaning for its community. For him, progress is not defined as leaving the past behind, but carrying it forward with intention, technique, and care.
Angelina’s Ristorante
399 Ellis Street, Staten Island / angelinasristorante.com
Angelina’s Kitchen
280 Marsh Avenue, Staten Island
415 Main Street, Woodbridge Township, NJ