CUISINE

CHEF CONVERSATIONS

In the kitchen with Rocco Pezzano of Sfizio Modern Italian Kitchen

BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ / PHOTO BY JENELLE BONIFIELD

Rocco Pezzano is the owner and executive chef of Sfizio Modern Italian Kitchen, which he opened in 2021 to showcase the bountiful ingredients, hearty flavors and decadent dishes inspired by his favorite memories from his childhood in his native Italy.

What inspired you to start cooking? At its core, Sfizio is my savory tribute to my mother’s cooking more than anything. I was raised in the Calabria region of southwest Italy in a small town by the ocean. Our lives revolved around her table, where we delighted in freshly baked bread, hand-rolled pasta, sauces simmered for days, and sweet treats day and night.

Tell us about your culinary journey. At 16, I enrolled in a culinary program, knowing I belonged in the kitchen. By 17, I moved to Torino in northern Italy to work at a bakery and then a pizzeria. In my 20s, after serving in the military, I honed my craft across Italian kitchens before moving to Arizona in 1986 after visiting my brother (who already lived here).

What did you do before Sfizio? I’ve consulted for as well as opened and operated restaurants Valleywide – Rocco’s Pizzeria, That’s Italiano and more – since making this my home in 1986, except for a 10-year break I took to be present in the lives of my children, Ariana and Marco, when they were young.

Tell us about the restaurant. Sfizio means “treat” in Italian, so when guests visit us, we intend to treat them to something special. The menu is always changing, but we have a custom-built brick pizza oven and pasta maker so be sure to order both for the table. I also source dozens of ingredients from Italy, including flour, tomatoes, select meats and cheese, olive oil, herbs, and Calabrian chilis, which are native to my hometown.

What is your favorite culinary memory? On Thanksgiving in 1996, I was newly dating my now-wife Zuri. While I cooked a traditional meal for 300 people at a nearby church, Zuri was cooking a similar meal at home until she dropped the turkey. She called me crying, and I had to laugh given I was staring at 40 cooking turkeys. Suffice it to stay, I took care of the turkey, and have ever since.

Sfizio Modern Italian Kitchen, 21050 N. Tatum Blvd., Phoenix; www.sfizioitaliano.com; 480.687.8107.