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Photographs by Kevin A. Roberts
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Hit the “reflect” button, and you may recall that person who had a profound effect on your life—that crusty bullhorn of a football coach, or Mr. Nerdman, the science teacher with the black clip-on tie. For me, it was a restaurant chef. When things got stressful in his kitchen, he would dart into the walk-in freezer and—I’m told—scream at the top of his lungs. No one ever heard him. But it worked: I never heard the man tongue-lash anyone directly.
On the following pages, SLM showcases several local chefs and their mentors. We hope that in perusing these pages, you will fondly recall yours. —George Mahe
Chef: Aaron Teitelbaum
Herbie’s Vintage 72, Monarch
Mentor: Rose Leah Teitelbaum
“My first memory of my grandmother’s kitchen in Brooklyn was having to remove the pots and pans from the oven before turning it on,” remembers Aaron Teitelbaum (right). “Even after culinary school, no dish I could ever make seemed as good as the one Grandma Rosie (left) made. I tried for years to get the recipe for her famous rolled cabbages, and last year she finally relented. They contain cabbage, rice, tomatoes, and raisins…that’s all she’ll allow me to say. But to make sure they were prepared properly, she would come back into the restaurant kitchen and direct the chefs and myself. Rosie would then go out into the dining room and talk up the dish to customers. At both our restaurants, she makes diners feel like they are guests in her home. I call her ‘the world’s grandmother.’ She will adopt you if you get close enough.”
Rose Teitelbaum is 96. She has her own business cards. Her title? Grandma Rosie, Ambassador.
Chef: Frank Papa
Frank Papa’s Ristorante
Mentor: Tony Bommarito
Tony’s, Anthony’s, A. Bommarito Wines
Before he opened Anthony’s, Tony Bommarito (right) was the chef at his brother Vince’s restaurant, a little place called Tony’s. Then–25-year-old Frank Papa (left) had to strain just to hear his soft-spoken boss. “Tony’s quiet demeanor allowed him to maintain perfect order in the kitchen,” remarks Papa. “No one was permitted to even speak, so nothing could distract us from the consistency he insisted on. The man was extremely organized, and very, very composed. I had never met a chef as calm as Tony…still haven’t.”
Chef: Qui Tran
Mai Lee
Mentor: Lee Tran
Mai Lee
Qui Tran (left) and his family emigrated from Vietnam to St. Louis when he was 3. Not long after, his mother (right) told him to “just get A’s, and everything will be fine.” He did, and it is. When Tran suggested moving the 26-year-old family restaurant to a larger, more visible location, his mother trusted his educated opinion. “She’s a self-taught, rustic cook who also managed to teach me all the right systems,” Tran says. “I told Mom she had to ‘just trust me on this.’ It took both of us to make the expansion happen.”
Chefs: Marc Del Pietro
Luciano’s Trattoria, Kilkenny’s Pub
and Michael Del Pietro Jr.
Sugo’s, Babbo’s, Via Vino
Mentor: Mary Rose Del Pietro
Del Pietro’s
When she was 12, Mary Rose Del Pietro (center) was making salads at her father’s restaurant, Rossino’s. “Not just helping out,” notes her oldest son, Michael (right). “She told me she worked full shifts, but that was all OK back then.” At Del Pietro’s restaurant, she acted as hostess, waitress, and busser, and also did the bookkeeping. “And she’s really never stopped, despite raising four kids. Now I know the feeling,” adds the father of three. The same goes for second son Marc (left), who in addition to running two restaurants, recently volunteered to be the “chef” at the parochial school his children attend, adding, “The whole family wins… Mom can guest-chef and see her grandkids at the same time.”
Chef: Terry Black
Super Smokers BBQ
Mentor: Mike Mills
17th Street Bar & Grill
Long before Pappy’s Smokehouse, there was Super Smokers, a company Terry Black (right) started “with six slabs of ribs and a bag of charcoal.” (As a matter of fact, Pappy’s Mike Emerson worked for him.) Black had long admired Mike Mills (left), a veteran pitmaster who won a record three Grand Champion awards at the prestigious Memphis in May barbecue festival (a.k.a. the World Series of Swine), thus earning the title The King of Swine. Ten years ago, when Black heard that St. Louis Small Business Monthly had given him its “Survivor Award,” the first call he made was to Mills. “I knew he would appreciate it,” says Black. “Mike had survived a lot longer in this business than I had.”
Chef: Amy Zupanci
Fond, Township Grocer
Mentor: Elizabeth Edwards
Many of today’s top chefs are driven by several new-age words: fresh, local, organic, seasonal. Turns out today’s buzzwords are yesterday’s fundamentals: Elizabeth Edwards (left) has been growing, canning, and preserving fruits and vegetables in central Illinois for 50 years…and Amy Zupanci (right) of Fond needed a muse. “My first summer back in Illinois, Liz taught me all about pickles and peppers,” she recalls. “Ten years later, she and I are still canning.” At press time, Amy was making soup base for the winter, “using the excess vegetables from the summer harvest.” You can witness the duo’s full bounty at Township Grocer, Zupanci’s retail market next door to Fond. Or just stop by for dinner.
Chef: Carolyn Downs
Cyrano’s
Mentor: Mike Johnson
BARcelona, Momos, Café Mira, Roxane, Fu Manchu, Cyrano’s, Boogaloo, Figaro, El Scorcho
What can you learn from a chef who is 25 years your junior? “Plenty,” pastry chef Carolyn Downs (left) says of restaurateur Mike Johnson (right). “I respected his temperament, his lack of ego, and his ability to teach and share ideas. Working with him at Café Mira gave me the confidence to pursue my passion for pastry, and when my husband suggested we reopen Cyrano’s, I wanted my kitchen to be run just like his, so I asked for Mike’s help, which he selflessly gives to this day.”
