Chef Michael Angeloni has been working in restaurants all his life. But he says that the Italian fine dining restaurant, Notte, is the place he’s always wanted to open. Previously known as Amano Trattoria and Notte Trattoria, it was also the site of ELLE Gourmet’s Italian Food and Wine Event last year. Angeloni himself made fresh pasta in front of the guests, which became delicious tasting plates that embodied true cucina Italiana. In this conversation, he reflects on his personal connection to Mediterranean cuisine and shares advice for home cooks wanting to master it.
7 Questions With Chef Michael Angeloni
What first drew you to Mediterranean cuisine?
Angeloni: “Being a first-generation Canadian, I always had a link to Italy and the Mediterranean. What kept me coming back was the flavours, the freshness and the importance of ingredients.”
Which Mediterranean ingredients feel most personal to you?
“Olive oil is what I think of first. It seems simple, but it’s not. The flavours change based on where it’s from and can go from bold to mild or smooth to spicy. Its a flavour bomb and so versatile. In my restaurants and at home, I tend to have four to five different olive oils. I love it. As a side note, I even take a shot of olive oil with fresh lemon juice in the mornings. I heard that Paul Anka does this, and, well, he looks pretty good for his age, so I’m trying it out.”
How do you keep traditional Mediterranean-inspired dishes and Italian dishes fresh and modern?
“By being open to the area I live in and being inspired by a multicultural city like Toronto. In Italy, they are not concerned with trying to bring things in from all over—they go to the market or pull something out of the sea and make a dish from there. I try to keep that same philosophy by working with local farms and ingredients and treating them simply and with a focus on quality.”
What does making pasta mean to you personally?
“It is my connection to my family and, in particular, my nonna. I was raised around her, and her currency was fresh pasta. She would get the guy next door to shovel the snow by giving him pasta. The other neighbour would help get her wine (she had stopped making her own by this point) and so he got pasta in return. It was her love language— if she liked you, you got pasta! For me, it’s such a simple thing, but the smell of the dough, the act of rolling it out, always brings me back to her basement and that feeling of love.”
Is there a specific pasta shape that you feel connected to?
“Agnolotti. It was not a shape I grew up with, but it was one of the first I learned about in a restaurant setting. It made me want to learn more about the skill of pasta making and to learn all the different varieties of pasta.”
What is a memorable food moment from your travels?
“Eating at my cousin’s restaurant in Italy (it’s on the Adriatic side and right on the water), sitting with my feet in the sand, looking out at the water and sharing beautiful dishes with my family. When I was younger, my aunt made me a sauce with monkfish in the same restaurant. But she treated the sauce similar to a bolognese, adding prosciutto, soffritto and some tomato and then finely chopping the monkfish and folding it through. It was amazing and inspired a similar sauce that I make from octopus.”
What advice would you give home cooks trying to master Mediterranean flavours?
“Keep it simple, get great ingredients (great doesn’t always mean expensive) and don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is the best way to learn, so learn from your mistakes, get your hands dirty and explore great food!”
