A passion for food would seem a fundamental prerequisite for any great chef, but after spending an engaging and fascinating afternoon with Chef Cosimo Tripodi, I not only discovered a chef with a tremendous passion for food, but an all-embracing passion for life, love, family, people, art, adventure and the island paradise which he has called home for the past eleven years. In fact, Cosimo fondly admits that not only has he lived on Provo longer than he has lived anywhere else, moreover, he has lived here almost longer than that of his birthplace, Calabria, in southern Italy. 'Home is where your heart is', and for Chef Cosimo, his heart is in Providenciales.
Raised in a loving home by his mother, father and grandmother, he professes that he has had a fascination for food and cooking since he was a child. The only boy in his southern Italian home of five women, he was not allowed in the kitchen and it became a game where he often tried to 'sneak' into the kitchen only to be chased away by his grandmother with a big wooden spoon, until she ultimately acknowledged his fervent desire to be there. As a young boy, he especially recalls the wonderful frittatas she used to make for him, and takes pleasure in the sentimental fact that the pan she used all those years ago is now in his own kitchen. He further admits that his family exists as an 'ingredient' in all of his cooking today.
At the age of 14, he attended Hotel Management School, spending his summers training at hotels in the northern provinces learning every aspect of the hotel industry through a student recruitment program. After receiving his degree in Hotel Management four years later, he fulfilled his obligatory one-year contract in military service.
Eager and ready to pursue his passion for adventure, he travelled first to England. He arrived not knowing the English language or anyone who lived there. As destiny would have it, a short week later Cosimo found himself working as a sous chef at La Bussola, a high-end Italian restaurant. A year later, trading land for the adventure of the high seas, he crossed the Atlantic and began working aboard a major cruise ship line based in Miami, which also presented the opportunity for him to discover many Caribbean destinations. Fate and a propensity for seasickness would necessitate that Cosimo return to one of the islands he had previously discovered while cruising, Grand Cayman. His diverse experiences on this island originated with the exotic and celebrated Ristorante Pappagallo, still famous today and owned by dear friends of his. He affectionately confesses that, "a part of me is always there". He recalls the unspoiled beauty of the Cayman Islands, bicycling all the way from George Town along Seven Mile Beach flanked by the ocean the entire time. Still the passionate adventurer, the island of Grand Cayman essentially became his base while he continued to travel exploring the Caribbean including Jamaica, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, which holds a particularly special place in his heart, but always returning to Cayman. Never considering himself a 'visitor' he always secured himself a job for several months taking every opportunity to learn everything he could about the people, culture and customs with an eagerness to understand why people eat certain foods. All of his experiences became a part of his personality that influences everything he does in his life and in his kitchen today. He went on to establish two successful restaurants while in Grand Cayman, one featuring his native southern Italian flavours, the other Caribbean.
In 1996, fate and a friend would deliver Cosimo to the next chapter of his life, the Turks & Caicos Islands. Hearing talk of the pristine beauty of the islands, its similarities to the Cayman Islands and its close proximity to his beloved Dominican Republic; his ever-adventurous passion brought him to Providenciales. He expresses feeling an inexplicable connection upon discovering an advertisement in a magazine he read aboard the flight for a nightclub/restaurant called Baccus. For Chef Cosimo, Providenciales was "love at first sight" . which he corrects himself to say, "love at first bite"! The 'glass house', an island landmark, is located in the heart of Grace Bay and quickly became Cosimo's own, Bella Luna Ristorante. An outlet for his ever-evolving creativity for over a decade, Bella Luna is a consummate reflection of his personality, where his own personal touches appear everywhere.
Behind every great and successful man, is a great woman. Kathleen is the quintessential host of Bella Luna, the love of his life, and his partner in life. He muses that his 'California Girl' with Mexican roots, is now just as Italian as he!
His restaurant and his social life are one in the same, in that all his cherished friendships materialized and flourished as a result of first and foremost being Bella Luna guests. He insists that not a conversation goes by without ending with food. Even as a guest in the home of friends, Cosimo embraces the opportunity to create in their kitchens using whatever is available with what he calls, the 'necessity of supplies'. "My challenge, which I enjoy, is to go into places with possibilities. To open up the fridge and cook."
The Bella Luna philosophy of food preparation is very similar, in that every dish is prepared 'a la minute', with no food 'prep'. Your meal is not created until you order it. With a seemingly effortless flair for total consistency, Chef Cosimo brings a Caribbean twist to the natural simplicity and traditions of his southern Italian roots, with an emphasis on healthier foods with robust flavours using an abundance of tomatoes, garlic, sharp cheeses, olives and herbs including oregano and basil, and favouring four basic sauces. These earthy, Mediterranean key ingredients 'open up your stomach' and are easy to digest, even more so when paired with his fine and extensive selection of wines. A plate of pasta with a simple pomodoro sauce with basil followed by grilled fish is Chef Cosimo's personal favourite, and is representative of these simple, uncomplicated ingredients. Typically, eighty percent of the foods he prepares are sautéed, and as many as ten sauté pans can be sizzling at once in the Bella Luna kitchen. Gnocchi and ravioli are made fresh, with fillings that change according to availability. Chef Cosimo also espouses the benefits of dry pasta, easy to digest compliments of the semolina and no eggs. He focuses on fresh seafood and regularly imports clams and mussels from the Gulf, augmented by our own readily available and vast selection of seafood including fish and lobster.
Working with his hands goes far beyond the realms of the Bella Luna kitchen. The consummate handy man, he enjoys carpentry, decorating and refurnishing. He is an artisan, mosaicing with tile and glass and his latest new found passion, painting, affording him relaxation and self-nurturing which in turn, benefits not only the restaurant, but his life in general. Examples of virtually all of his creative endeavours can be found in some way, shape or form in Bella Luna.
It was a pleasure to discover that Cosimo can never imagine a time in his life when he will not be working . he confesses that his great accomplishment is in the simplicity of this . that he prepared foods to the best of his ability, that his guests, many of whom are his friends, enjoyed and had fun. That the food was good, and they would come back for more.
By Mandy Rostance-Wolf
Reprinted from "Where When How - Turks & Caicos Islands" January/February 2007
