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Q&A: The Chef of the Year, Pino Posteraro

Portrait

One or twice a week Scout poses 60 questions to a local who has made life in BC that much more interesting. They pick and choose which ones they’d prefer to answer, with a minimum response rate of 20. A Rorschach test, for sure…

Pino Posteraro is the current President of The Chef’s Table Society of BC, the 2008 Vancouver Magazine Chef of the Year, and the owner/chef of Cioppino’s Mediterranean Grill in Yaletown.

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Scout Q&A

Three things about your neighbourhood that make you want to live there: Grand Boulevard area In North Vancouver: down to earth; friendly environment; still small reality; almost a village, like where I come from.

The thing that you eat that is bad for you that you will never stop eating: Pasta, Pasta, Pasta.

Default drink of choice: Champagne.

Drink you’ll never have again: Never say never.

The one place you’d move to without any regrets: My home town in the south of Italy.

Favourite wine varietal: Pinot Noir (old Burgundy to be more precise).

The person you can imitate: Depends on how much I had to drink (the only time I shall attempt).

One thing you’d like to change about Vancouver: The rain.

Bartender who could sell you anything: Stefano, an old school bartender from Toronto who has a “special gift”.

Cheap place for dinner: Pasparos Taverna on the North Shore, even if now the prices are up.

Book you’re reading: Cresci: The Art of Leavened Dough.

Last place traveled: New York.

Biggest fear: Dying young.

Cliche that you use too often: I do not have one.

Dead film actor you wish was still making pictures: Massimo Troisi.

Best sneaker in the world: The most comfortable ones (no particular brand).

Place in BC that you love escaping to: Ruby lake

Under what circumstances would you join the army: No circumstances.

Your paternal grandfather’s personal story: He died the same year I was born.

Best bar stool in the city: I do not have one.

Dumbest purchase ever: Must be one of my sports cars.

What are you proud of: My family.

The thing that makes you the angriest: Stupidity

Saddest thing about Vancouver: Hastings and Main.

Most challenging part of owning a business: Keeping the staff focused.

Best fine dining restaurant in the city: Tojo’s.

Your nickname growing up: Pino, which is short for Giuseppe.

Talent you wish you possessed: Be a great soccer player.

The trend you wish you never followed, but did: Fusion, when I was back from working in Asia.

Musical instrument you long to play: Guitar.

Sport you gave up: Soccer.

Foreign politician you most admire: Bill Clinton.

The game you’re best at: Cooking.

Best gallery in the city: Petley-Jones.

Somewhere within an hour of Vancouver that is worth checking out: Bearfoot Bistro (Whistler).

The number of fist fights you’ve been in: One that I can remember (his name was Pino as well).

The scariest situation you’ve ever been in: Losing my mother and my brother within 9 months of eachother.

Three things of no value that you will keep until you die: My old track pants; my old soccer shoes; my old guitar.

Local person you admire most: John Bishop; Hidekazu Tojo; Robert Clark.

The thing you’re ashamed of: Not spending enough time with my wife and kids.

Best concert experience ever: Avril Lavigne with my daughter.

Aspect of your personality you wish you could change: Being more patient.

How you waste time at work: Repeating myself.

The thing you wished people cared more about: Other people.

The dish you’re most proud of: The last one I’ve created.

The thing that makes you the most nervous: Flying and hospitals.

Town you were born in: Lago in the province of Cosenza in Calabria, Italy.

Old television shows you can tolerate re-runs of: Friends.

First memory: My mom.

Quality you admire most in yourself: Perseverance.

Album that first made you love music: My love for music came as a consequence of the Catholic study I attended.

Default junk food of choice: Chocolate chip cookies.

The career path you considered but never followed: Heart surgeon.

The one country that you have no interest in ever visiting: Kazakhstan.

Your top 3 films of all time: Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, La Vita e’ Bella.

The first three things you do every morning: Espresso; soccer news online; respond to my emails.

The thing you’re addicted to: Pasta.

Biggest hope: A healthy life for my family and for all the kids of the world.

Luckiest part of your life: Being born into a family of six children. You really learn about life and love.

Favourite book as a child: The stories narrated by my mom. We could not afford many books.

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READ ALL SCOUT INTERVIEWS

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Related Video:

Senza Frontiere at Cioppino’s


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Related Photos:

Senza Frontiere at Cioppino’s

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There are 5 comments

  1. No sucking up here when I say that he can come across as a little “rough around the edges”, but make no mistake, this is a talented man of the people and one “heavy duty dude”.

  2. I’ve never seen him before (not being much of a foodie) but that is an amazing photo. There is so much character in that face. Cool background too. Where is that?

  4. Hmmm!

    Poor choice of words in my original post.

    All I wanted to say is that with Pino what you see is what you get – there is never any ego to stroke – he is gemuine, a real person and that is rare in this business filled with prima donnas and divas.

    I wish there more people like him – super talented and down to earth.

  5. ‘How you waste time at work: Repeating myself.’

    best answer since Sebastian’s army enlisting answer

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