Chef Salvatore Calisi comes from a distinguished restaurant career in New York City where he worked as Sous Chef for critically acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs. He has led the kitchen's of Charlie Palmer of Aureole, Rocco Dispirito-Union Pacific, Cesare Casella- Coco Pazzo, Daniel Boulud- Restaurant Daniel, Scott Bryan-Veritas and Christian Delovier-The Essex House to name a few.
Chef Calisi not only worked with legends of the culinary arts and the finest restaurants both in the country as well as Italy but he has also been awarded the prestigious Michelin Star himself as both the Executive Chef and Partner of Dio Deka in Los Gatos.
The Michelin Guide stated, "Chef Salvatore Calisi has fun with the menu, lending it some Mediterranean touches and infusing it with a contemporary sensibility that utilizes both local California products as well as global accents."
Chef Calisi has an extensive formal culinary education, complemented by years of experience in the kitchen both in the United States and abroad, beginning as a boy at Yolanda's, his father's restaurant in New York. He spent his summers in high school and college working in restaurants on the luxurious resort islands of Elba and Sardinia and went on to graduate from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Chef Calisi has also made many television appearances throuh out his Culinary career and has also appeared on shows such as The Tony Danza Show, The Food Network and Live With Regis and Kelly.
Prior to moving to California, Calisi spent years honing his Executive Chef toque with well-heeled restaurateurs. Most recently at Valbella in New York's gentrified meat-packing district, which opened to rave reviews in the fall of 2005. The talented and affable chef learned the most outside of school, while growing up in an Italian household where he would watch my grandmother hand-make pasta and so many life-changing meals right in front of his eyes along with every family member he visited. He was surrounded by amazing culinary foundations. He was also inspired by working in the kitchen and paying close attention to everything diners ate—and everything they did not. "At Veritas, the kitchen was really small, and my sous-chef station was right next to the dishwasher," he explains. "I'd watch every plate that came in, and if something was left on the plate, I'd examine it to find out why," he says. Even if it was something as small as a scallion or a clove of garlic, Chef Calisi would take it off the plate, feel its texture to determine if it was over or under-cooked, and figure out how it could have been better prepared. "I have to get it exactly right".
That perfectionist trait was put to the test at Union Pacific, where almost daily famous chefs would stop in to dine at the restaurant. Charlie Palmer, David Bouley and Alain Ducasse frequented the restaurant and Chef Calisi would watch with bated breath from the kitchen (often leaving the door open slightly) to determine how they liked each dish. "One day David Bouley was sucking on the bone of a lamb chop I'd prepared," he said. "It made my day!"
Chef Calisi has two children, A.J. and Presley, and resides in Morgan Hill.
