What were your favorite foods growing up?
Ice Cream. Anytime was right for it according to me. It was enough to pick up the right flavors according to each meal.

When did you decide you wanted to open a restaurant?
In 2009, soon after I decided I wanted to continue living in NYC and left my job in advertising, was when I began to conceive, conceptualize, and plan my own business and brand.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
In New York City of course, in SoHo to be precise, when Salume opened its door for the first time on May 27th 2009.

If you didn't become a chef/restaurant owner, what would you be?
What I've always been, an advertising executive.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Working lunches and brief lunch breaks, meaning that I always thought possible to indulge with high quality food, no matter how quickly or informally.

How would you describe your cuisine?
Real Italian Panini, the best and most complete assortment of it.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
My Italian heritage, meaning the knowledge of both ingredients and recipes for real Italian panini.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
The Berkel Slicer. This fantastic piece of mechanics, known as the Ferrari of the slicer, not only "shaves" cured meats, better than anything else, but also makes a clear quality statement about our Salumeria.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
The "not so common", even unexpected, ingredients in many of our recipes. Like sliced lemon in the Valtellina, horseradish sauce in the Felino, fennel in the San Daniele or banana in the Alba.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
The one that is not negotiable: never press panini. It is our philosophy, our point of difference and even more important, the warranty for our quality.

What qualities do you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Passion for ingredients. Everything starts with them. Passion means respect for the genuinity, the origin, and the ability to enhance flavor even further with preparation / cooking.

What is your least favorite food?
Cauliflower. I can't even taste it, the smell makes me sick.

What is your beverage of choice?
Prosecco. The perfect wine for Salume panini, thanks to the bubbles....

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
My Italian side by USA, my American side by Italy; I like the pairing, I have to say.

What do you eat when you are at home?
Do you need to ask? Pasta!