An Interview with Chef Scott Conant

Chef Scott Conant is widely recognized as a renowned restaurateur, cookbook author, and celebrity chef with appearances on Bravo's “Top Chef” and Food Network's “Chopped," and the Valley has been abuzz with the news of his move to Arizona and plans to open a Phoenix restaurant. In addition to purchasing a new Scottsdale home, Conant will be debuting Mora Italian with local restaurateur Stefano Fabbri of Pomo Pizzeria Napoletana. Slated for a December launch, this 6000-foot modern osteria promises a convivial, lively atmosphere with a menu featuring Neapolitan-style pizzas, handmade pastas, and craft cocktails. Conant will also maintain his home in New York along with restaurants in New York, Las Vegas and Miami and continue his television commitments. Look for his first major public appearance at the azcentral Food & Wine Experience on Sunday, November 6th, where he will participate in a meet and greet, book signing and cooking demonstration.  

I've been a fan for many years, with visits to Scarpetta in Las Vegas on our regular rotation and Conant's Scarpetta Cookbook: 125 Recipes from the Acclaimed Restaurant a well-used favorite. Recently, I had a chance to ask this talented chef some questions about his move to the Valley.  Find out why he's looking forward to this new chapter in his life and what he's most excited to bring to Mora Italian.

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Photo: Nick Garcia

Welcome to Arizona! We’re thrilled you’ve made the Valley your home and joined our thriving culinary scene. How did you meet Stefano Fabbri? First of all, thank you and I love being here. I couldn’t be happier to be in Phoenix. I am so excited for this next chapter for me and my family. I met Stefano through a mutual friend and then discovered multiple connections.

How did you two decide on the concept of Mora Italian? For me, it was about Stefano seeing what I’ve done and the restaurants I currently have, and I think we identified a lot of mutual motivations for the potential of this restaurant.

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Rendering photo: LGE Design/Brick & West

When did you make the move to Scottsdale? Initially, I didn’t have any plans to buy a home out here, but I was ready for a change and Phoenix seemed like the perfect place. I moved out here in July.

What helped make your decision that the time was right?  There were so many personal and professional factors all aligned that is just felt like the right choice.

What aspect are you most excited about with Mora Italian? The development process and creating dishes that make people happy. I look forward to seeing what the locals like and constantly evolving the menu to continue making people happy.

What, if anything, has surprised you about our local dining scene? The interest in the project which stems from a genuine excitement and enthusiasm from the local community. It’s really amazing how invested everyone I’ve met has seemed in the success of restaurants and local business in this city.

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Photo: Nick Garcia

You’ll also be making an appearance at one of our most prestigious culinary events, the azcentral Food & Wine Experience. Were you familiar with it?  I had heard of it and have had some friends involved in it. I am really excited to be involved this year.

What are you planning for your Grand Tasting cooking demonstration? We are still tossing around ideas, but I’d love to hear what people would like to see from me!

We’re already anticipating the projected December opening of Mora Italian, are there any other projects on the horizon?  Mora is definitely my main focus right now.  


For more information on Chef Conant's appearance at the Food & Wine Experience, visit this link: Scott Conant Joins Lineup at azcentral Food & Wine Experience

An Interview with Lidia Bastianich

Lidia Bastianich, the beloved and acclaimed Italian chef, is a woman of many culinary talents.  Since 1998, viewers have been warmly welcomed into her kitchen on PBS through a succession of cooking shows, including Lidia’s Italy, for which she won an Emmy in 2013. As a successful restaurateur, she began with Buonavia in 1971 and has garnered accolades in a wide range of culinary avenues, now partnered with son Joe and daughter Tanya.  She is the chef-owner of renowned Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto in New York as well as Lidia’s Pittsburgh and Lidia’s Kansas City, and in 2015 released her 11th cookbook, Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook.  In addition, she is the founder of Tavola Productions, co-owner of Bastianich Winery, busy with Lidia's Kitchen, a tabletop and cookware line, and Lidia’s sauces and pastas, and expanding the highly-successful Eataly, an artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace, from locations in New York City, Chicago, and Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Next weekend, Chef Lidia visits Arizona for a special dinner at Avanti benefitting Arizona PBS on March 19th and to join host Chef Robert McGrath on the 20th at the Check Please! Festival for “A Masterful Chat with Lidia Bastianich”.  I had a chance to talk to this talented culinary star about her upcoming visit.

We’re happy to have you back in Arizona. What will the Check Please! Festival be like? Thank you. I’m going to do a meet and greet and also a panel.  We’ll start with an intimate conversation with me and the host asking questions, and then we’ll open it up to the audience, followed by a meet and greet.  

Could you tell me more about the dinner on March 19th?  The night before, we have a dinner for KAET public television and I will be signing my latest book. It will be dishes from Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine paired with Bastianich wines. I will explain the recipes and the choices, and any questions that the diners have.  When I do these kind of trips I like to combine fundraising.  I do a lot of fundraising for public television because that’s where I want to be.  That’s where I think the platform for intelligent communication is, so I support and I go to different stations.  At the dinners usually I talk, I answer questions, I go around the room, and so it is an opportunity to meet my my viewers, my people that are out there sending me those emails, connecting with them. It is important for me. 

Eataly is a huge success, and you've also opened internationally in Brazil.  What made you choose that location?  It's a partners kind of meeting of the minds, if you will.  We get approached a lot from  entrepreneurs that want to partner.  We usually do partner with the local entrepreneur and the businessman because they know the area. They came and made a good offer, and there was the excitement of the culture and going down there. The place is doing fantastic.  We're also working on Boston and LA. 

At Eataly you are involved in the classes.  Yes. We all kind of have our responsibilities.  The US partners are Joe [Bastianich], Mario [Batali] and myself as far as the restaurants, and then we have the Italian partners.  The restaurants are our theme, whereas the  groceries and more of that are our Italian partners because the groceries all come from Italy and we work there with Slow Food.  I am the dean of education.  Each store has a La Scuola, the school. I have a team and we organize events and I do special classes. 

You also own an Italian winery.  We do, we have a winery in Friuli, Bastianich wine. We produce it and sell it across the United States and we are very excited about that.  My evolution in what I do in my business is really about the opportunities that came about.  Which do you take, and which do you not take.  I guess if you do well and you get recognized, you get opportunities offered, and so the wine actually came out of wanting to to back to Italy. That’s where our home is, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.  The place had a little winery and of course we continued to make the wine.  

Congratulations on your new book. I believe it's your 11th?  Yes, thank you, it's Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine.

With such a wealth of knowledge, is there a dish that you think everyone should know how to do?  That’s a big spectrum, but I think a good marinara sauce. It's simple and straightforward; it’s very doable. I think once people get the success and see how simple, easy, and good a marinara sauce is, then with the marinara you can make chicken pizzaiola, you can make shrimp fra diavolo, or anything out of the marinara.  It’s based on simple, good ingredients. 

What are the plans for the future? We are going to continue to open up more locations.  We’re thinking of Philadelphia. Absolutely, we’re thinking, we’re looking, we want to do more in the States.