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| Lynne Gigliotti: Grappa by Meredith Fletcher Hands off! Chef Lynne Gigliotti’s theory of food presentation is a simple one: less handling, more taste. “The fancier the arrangement on the plate, the more someone has been touching your food,” she explains. Gigliotti employs a fresh, casual, “un-architectural” approach to cooking, emphasizing the food rather than the flash. Her simple style has simple roots. As a child, Gigliotti sat fascinated for hours with cooking shows on television and recalls mixing the recipes on the back of the Bisquick box for entertainment. A Philadelphia native, Gigliotti attended The Restaurant School after high school, then spent the next ten years working in various restaurants in the area. She then continued her education with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. The externship segment of the program – or a five-month tutelage with a chef – led her to Atlanta to work with Guenter Seeger (currently of Seeger’s on East Paces Ferry Place) in the dining room at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. Liking the feel of Atlanta, Gigliotti returned to Georgia after graduation from the Culinary Institute and launched a catering business, where she handled the usual off-premise, upscale events such as weddings, cocktail parties and bar mitzvahs. She recalls that patrons frequently commented that her fare “didn’t taste like catered food.” It was simple, delicious, actually edible food. Her point exactly. Gigliotti describes herself as a “project-oriented personality,” and that she is. After seven years of catering, she opened a small lunch space, the Grapevine Café, which she ran for about two years. Then one of her regular customers, Danny Cosenzi approached her with the idea of starting a restaurant, and Grappa was born. Grappa is a garden bistro; the Mediterranean-influenced menu reflects Gigliotti’s extensive Italian and French background and experience. She emphasizes that her main goal is pleasing the customer. Her relaxed, smooth style is evident in every aspect of the restaurant. The breezy décor of simple pastels and wrought-iron tables, crisp Caesar salads, fresh arrays of meats and fluid service all reflect high quality without high fuss. In addition to running Grappa, Gigliotti also teaches at the Cook’s Warehouse once a month. She finds teaching extremely rewarding, especially if students are able to immediately apply their new skills. “I specifically go through my recipes and make sure it’s something people can do at home.” Yet another project is her role as the corporate chef for Derek Lawford Pubs, places we know as Hand in Hand and Rose and Crown. Gigliotti spent five days in London visiting over 30 different watering holes, then returned home and applied her knowledge to redesigning the menus of the English pubs on this side of the pond. Fish & chips and burgers are still choices, but the overall feel of the bar menus was “lightened” considerably. Now the selection boasts a more attractive, more edible range of eats, including several salads, chicken and vegetable sandwiches, and salmon filets. Gigliotti particularly thrives on the challenge of opening a business and drops that Grappa will not be the last restaurant she will own. She defines success as recognition and a regular customer base, rather than merely finances. In her next project, perhaps located beachside or in the mountains somewhere, she hopes to heighten her interaction with her patrons. Gigliotti wants the Atlanta dining public to be more cognizant of what they are eating rather than where they are eating, stressing that atmosphere should not be more conspicuous than the food. “I want people to take their food a little more personally,” she says. “To enjoy themselves. Dining out should not be a cattle call, but at the same time, it’s not all about the ‘power table,’ either.” Grappa is located at 3097 Maple Drive. Their phone number is (404) 262-9749. |
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