Ciao,
I’m Domenico Vincenti.
I was born in Orvieto on 4th October 1992 from a Brazilian mother and an Italian father. I have 1 brother and 1 sister older than me. We grew up in the countryside playing outdoors.
I’ve always had a great relationship with nature. In fact, every summer I helped my father in the fields. My love for food started with him. He told me that he understood that he loved my mother when he gave up a plate of pasta for her. As a child I liked to help my grandmother make cakes, and I always put my finger at the bottom of the bowl.
In the evening before going to bed, my father always told me stories of a fictional character called Peppe Spada. He was a globetrotter and the story that remained in my mind was the one in which he slipped onto a cruise ship and ended up becoming the kitchen chef. In my family’s culture, food has always been the glue that held us together. We never talked about important issues in front of a meal – we always waited for the table to be cleared. In my mind, food has always been associated with happiness, serenity and lightheartedness.
When I was 13, I decided to study at hotel school, so I moved alone to Spoleto. I studied during the week and worked on the weekends with Adler, a 60-year-old retired lady who had a restaurant in Orvieto. With her I discovered the joy of seeing happiness in people’s eyes when they were offered a dish that reminded them of their childhood, a snack, a Sunday or the bottom of the bowl. I realized I held keys into the maze of the human mind. Just as music, through only 7 total notes, can create melodies that make people shiver, so too can the kitchen, but with an infinite number of notes.
After 2 years I decided to travel and discover new things. In succession I went to work: on the Alps, in Puglia on the sea, and then again in Orvieto. Next, I was offered a job in Germany where I stayed for 3 years studying the language and managing the kitchen of a restaurant. A series of events brought me back to Italy and the pleasure of discovery. I was interested in learning more about the chemistry and nutritional value of food, which led me to enroll in the university of agricultural food and environmental sciences of Perugia that I still attend.
A few years ago, I attended a wedding celebrated at Il Tesoro by chance. Through this good fortune, I crossed paths with Rita and our collaboration began. Since my time at Adler’s restaurant, I had not met a person who was so full of passion and dedication to their work. The work was not an end unto itself, but the result of a philosophy that focuses on the idea of family and that tries to make every customer feel an integral part of it. To me, Il Tesoro takes you back to the aroma of your grandmother’s house, where food was a gift and an experience that reminded everyone that a meal is a moment of sharing and joy.
Wish you could meet Domenico and taste his beautiful creations for yourself? You absolutely can! But you need to move fast, space is limited for this reservation
A Taste of Italy | Sunday, February 10th | 6:30 PM at Amorette
4-Course Prix Fixe Authentic Italian Dinner (ALL of the ingredients are being flown in from the farm in Italy and prepared in the Amorette kitchen by Domenico himself!)
RESERVE YOUR SPACE here — if you are making reservations for more than one, please call the studio (717) 391-1060 to place your reservation and process payment
