Chef Spotlight: Tino Procaccini of TINO'S ARTISAN PIZZA CO. in NJ AND NYC

Chef/Owner Tino Procaccini opened his first restaurant, La Principessa Ristorante, when he was just 20 years old, operating the restaurant while attending Rider University in 1999. He then went on to work at Whole Foods Fresh Market, where he learned about the importance of using premium organic ingredients before opening the first Tino's Artisan Pizza Co. in 2011 in Kingston, New Jersey.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Tino about his career and his restaurants for our "Chef Spotlight."

What was your earliest interest in cooking?

My interest in cooking began at a very young age due to the fact that my mother emigrated to this country from Italy and lived in the kitchen. She basically cooked all of our meals along with our school lunches when my brother & I were little. If we went out to eat it would be twice a year. She always compares how she can do so much better at home than a lot of restaurants out there. Honestly, I have yet to ask her but I often wonder if she enjoys it. It definitely is demonstrated in what she creates. It's funny because we grew up in the landscaping business with my father. On Sundays when it was time to landscape our home I would sneak away to help my mother with our big Italian Sunday dinners. So I would say it was in my heart from an early age hence opening my first restaurant at 20 years old.

Who were some of your career mentors?

As much as I wanted to go to culinary school I didn't, thinking I already had plenty of at-home experience. Some of the best chefs out there don't even have culinary degrees. I figured I would attend a good business school so I would be well-rounded in all aspects of owning/operating a restaurant. I can't say I had any specific chefs that were mentors but I loved watching various different ones growing up on the television which went hand and hand when cooking in the kitchen with my mother. Even spending summers with my Nonna (grandmother in Italian) in Italy proved to me that the main intangible ingredient in cooking is LOVE. Quality ingredients and the process matter, however, love is what makes whatever you are cooking. As of late one of my favorite chefs is David Rocco. He is of Italian descent, born and raised in Canada. The reason I've been following him for years is that he says the same two things that I learned at a young age: that love is the main ingredient and whatever you make remember "quanto basta" which literally means "when enough". What this saying means is if you like more sauce then add more sauce. If you like more spice then spice it up. There are no laws in cooking; just what makes you happy.

What culinary styles have influenced your career?

This is tough because as a chef & restauranteur, I love all types of cuisine from sushi to Indian, Mexican to Portuguese. Obviously, I'm partial to Italian but always love trying new things. I just feel comfortable with Italian because it's what I know best.

What do you consider the most distinguishing features of your work as a chef?

I can cook anything Italian and for years I had a full Italian restaurant but realized many years later that less is more, especially these days. I decided to go from fish and seafood to strictly simplicity including salads, paninis, and PIZZA!!

What is your favorite meal or meals?

I am a huge CARBivore, as you can tell by the looks of my stomach. I absolutely love pasta, pizza, and bread. Any of these are my death row go-to's. I can't say I have a specific dish although, at Tino's, we do little twists like creating pizzas from typical, traditional pasta dishes. One example is our Amatriciana pizza which is a very traditional pasta dish from the Amatrice area of Italy. Another is our cacio e pepe pizza which is a very traditional pasta dish from Rome. When our guests try it they can't believe how amazing they are in pizza form.

Tell me a little bit about your restaurant for our readers.

When I decided to leave my apron from the full Italian restaurant I owned, I went to work for Whole Foods Market to gain more experience as well as take a breather from the demanding grind of entrepreneurship. During this time my father was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. My father ALWAYS prides himself on eating from his garden. EVERYTHING is organic and very little meat. When the doctor broke the news I was in utter shock. It was then I decided to get back into the kitchen, simplify things, and make sure everything was all-natural, using organic as much as possible just as my father preached my whole life. It was also a practice that I learned from Whole Foods. This is how Tino's came to life. It's an all-natural, organic pizza concept. From organic sodas to alternative pizza crusts like cauliflower and gluten-free. Our regular pizza dough is made from unbleached, unbromated flour. All of our cured meats have no nitrates or nitrites, our chicken, beef, and veal are grass-fed and antibiotic-free, and our produce is organic. Our breads contain 4 simple ingredients: flour, filtered water, sea salt, and yeast. All of our containers are either compostable or recyclable and even our cleaning agents are environmentally friendly. We recycle all bottles, cans, and cardboard. I personally believe this has attributed to our success and what has made us grow to 6 locations with hopes of many more. I believe we need to eat as healthily as possible in order for us to live better while being as kind as possible to our environment.

Tino's Artisan Pizza Co. has recently opened a new restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. For more information on Tino's, locations and hours of operation, please visit https://www.nojunkpizza.com/. To view the menu in the Chelsea location, visit HERE. Follow Tino's on Instagram @tinosartisanpizzaco.

Photo Credit: Tino's Artisan Pizza Co.

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