CleverRoot

s u m m e r 2 0 1 7 | 6 5 EXECUTIVE CHEF Renzo Azzarello, Luna Blu, Tiburon, CA PHOTO BY HARDY WILSON PHOTO BY HARDY WILSON Luna Blu's monkfish cioppino and the Cerulli Spinozzi 2011 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Marinade Background Francis Ford Coppola has done a lot of great things. Outside of The Godfather films, one of these things was sponsoring Renzo Azzarello's American work visa. Just after the turn of the 21st century, Azzarello ran a few Northern California restaurants for Coppola, and has since come a long way, always remembering his roots. He's run other restaurants, and opened his own popular Café Renzo in Palo Alto. Says Azzarello in a thick Sicilian accent, "I was born and grew up in Sicily. My family, they have a bed and breakfast, so pretty much I grew up in the restaurant business and I learned a lot from many different people. When I came to California and start to infuse that with my Italian background, I became inspired." Dollop of Philosophy Says Azzarello, "After I left Café Renzo, my wife—also my business partner—found the [Luna Blu] location and fell in love with it. Luna Blu is seafood Sicilian cuisine with a little bit of California infusion. We make the pasta fresh three times a day. Fettuccini is like my grandma's, with two egg yolks, so it's very flavorful. Grow- ing up with my mother and all the people in the kitchen, I didn't realize at the time how much that would affect my life, but it's still in my brain, so when I do things I start to infuse this." Dash of Motivation "You can feed the customer and make people happy. It's beautiful. When you're a chef and you have this kind of position, you wake up in the morning with energy." Garnished with a Favorite Preparation "I'm in love with making risotto. I can make a hundred different types of risotto. Cooking with rice is my favorite thing, but I love making everything." The Pairing "The Spinozzi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo is pouring by the glass right now and the people love it. I put it on the menu a while ago and so many people love it, I have to keep it on! The Spinozzi goes really well with almost everything. Like the cioppino; it's a monkfish cioppino, with an amazing flavor, different for the area of San Francisco—everyone else uses Dungeness crab. My prosciutto risotto would be another great one."

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