We continue with Part Two of our interview with Peter Masiello, executive chef at Il Bacio and Prime. Read part one here.
Clean Plate Charlie: What's on your plate at home:
Chef Peter Masiello: I very rarely cook at home. I live in an apartment and I like it clean. It's enclosed so If you sauté a piece of fish, the entire apartment smells. I eat out a lot. I have very close friends that are chefs and I like to eat out.
Can you tell us a favorite?
Casa de Angelo on Palmetto in Boca. I'm close with Ricky the chef. It's rare to have camaraderie with chefs in Florida. I feel like there's jealousy. In New York its different. I don't know the answer why there's not a bigger chef community down here.
Any tips for cooks at home?
A lot of times people say give me a recipe for truffle mac and cheese, but the thing I tell them is look at the recipe, but make the recipe your own. Be creative but gear it toward what your taste profile is. You don't have to follow my recipe - go with your own taste profile. If you like chopped onions, put in chopped onions. I like recipes for ratios. If you make meatballs there's a specific ratio of meat to breadcrumbs to egg. If I want to make bread I know the ratio for dough to bread flour and yeast. So follow that part specifically and then go crazy.
What food trends are you seeing?
Sushi's been around but we sell a lot of sushi at Prime. I can't believe how much sushi I sell. Again, it's not a new trend but it's amazing how many compliments we get on our sushi.
What do you see differently between Il Bacio and Prime, food-wise?
On a Friday night I'll taste the pizza or spinach dip with chips at Il Bacio. The menu is more for having with cocktails since it's more of a lounge atmosphere. Then I'll come over to Prime and see people cooking big steaks and lobster for the guests.
What can New Times readers expect to eat from Il Bacio and Prime when they come to Artopia next week?
I haven't set the menu yet. It's a surprise.
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