The gastronomy trailblazer behind one of the most mouthwatering pasta dishes to eat in Italy (according to The New York Times) — Busiate, a seafood-rich dish of anchovies, mackerel ragù, wild fennel, saffron, and twirls of pasta — two times Michelin Star-winning chef Ciccio Sultano needs no real introduction to his fellow Italians (myself included). Still, even those unfamiliar with the contagious spiritedness of the culinary innovator's practice and savoir-faire will recognize an ability to elevate the simplest, most genuine ingredients from his land into visually striking, sculptural masterpieces that never lose sight of his ultimate end: paying homage to the crossroad of cultures and civilizations that have left a mark on Sicily, the southern Italian island he hails from, while breathing new life into its food tradition.
Born in Turin, Piedmont, to Sicilian parents in 1970, Sultano finds himself in the gastronomy industry almost by accident when, having left the bricklayer job he had taken up to make ends meet after the premature passing of his father in his early teens, he lands a position at Pasticceria Suite di Vittoria, a family-run patisserie in the province of Ragusa. His first experiences in the field see him juggle multiple tasks between pastry preparations and the handling of the establishment's American bar. Following a four-year stint as the executive chef of a celebrated restaurant near Munich, Germany, Sultano became Italian-American celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich and Fortunato Nicotra's sidekick at the now-defunct Italian Felidia, situated in NYC's Midtown Manhattan, before making the move to the West Coast to work at Piero Selvaggio's Valentino.
