Meet The Chef: Emilio Vitolo
Updated: Aug 31
Bio
Emilio Vitolo's story is rooted in Salerno, shaped by immigration and built through a lifetime inside New York food businesses. He entered the industry as a child in a local pastry shop, continued in the demanding environment of Ferrara, one of New York's best known Italian pastry institutions, and eventually had the opportunity to acquire Ballato, a small Italian restaurant in Manhattan.
Pastry work taught him discipline, precision and respect for sequence — lessons that transferred directly when he became a restaurant owner. He built Ballato's reputation around Italian tradition inside a room known for staying humble and direct, and later passed his passion to his three sons, Mario, Emilio Jr. and Antonio, who took on roles across management, kitchen and dining room.
The Restaurant's Story
Ballato is a small, unpretentious Italian restaurant in New York, and that quality is difficult to manufacture — it comes through in the food, the service and the absence of unnecessary distance between the kitchen and the guest. Simplicity in the dining room does not mean carelessness in the kitchen: the operation is confident enough not to perform sophistication at every moment.
The restaurant has attracted a recognized clientele over the years without letting that attention change its character. A neighborhood regular and a well-known guest receive the same honest plate. That continuity — family-run, generation after generation, standard never lowered — is what gives Ballato its reputation for direct, real Italian hospitality.
Chef Gianluca Deiana recalled meeting Vitolo and being drawn into a conversation about food lasting four to five hours — the kind of conversation that only happens when passion for the craft was never a rehearsed public statement.
The Chef's Recipe
During that long conversation, the subject turned to spaghetti with garlic, oil and chile. Vitolo walked into the kitchen and prepared it on the spot — no ceremony, no advance notice. Chef Gianluca called the result perfect. It's a dish with almost nowhere to hide a weak technique, which is exactly why it says so much about a chef.
Ingredients (serves 2)
400g spaghetti 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 fresh or dried red chile, sliced (or a pinch of chile flakes) Fine sea salt, to taste Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped Reserved pasta cooking water
Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until just short of al dente. 2. While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a wide pan over low heat. Add the sliced garlic and chile, and cook gently until the garlic turns golden — never brown or bitter. 3. Reserve a cup of starchy pasta water, then transfer the pasta directly into the pan with the garlic oil. 4. Toss over medium heat, adding splashes of pasta water as needed until the oil and water form a light, glossy emulsion that coats every strand. 5. Finish with chopped parsley, taste for salt, and serve immediately — the dish should be fluid, never greasy or dry.
Chef Gianluca's Recommendation
Prioritize ingredient quality and execute the basic technique cleanly before adding decorative touches. The finished dish should taste balanced first; presentation comes second. Make the final adjustment for salt right before service, then serve without unnecessary delay.
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