FOOD: Steve Mannino of Rustico

BY Kathleen Nixon

July 29, 2011

Falls Church Times Staff

This Saturday at the Falls Church Farmers Market Chef demonstration we will be featuring Steve Mannino of Rustico. Steve will be bringing his rustic creativity to dishes that will feature summer vegetable favorites.

Tell our readers a little about your background? I am the Executive Chef at Rustico which is a combination of rustic and sophisticated Italian cooking with an awesome array of 400 beers. We first opened on Slater’s Lane in Alexandria and we opened a second location in Ballston last year.  I was trained at the Culinary Institute in New York and have had the pleasure of working with some dynamite chefs over the years.  My passion is creating rustic dishes with innovate nuances.

Tell us a little about your restaurant, your staff and how you incorporate local producers into your restaurant purchasing? The restaurant is very rustic.  We try not to mask our food too much.  We try to keep it as local as possible which means we run a very seasonal menu that changes frequently with a lot of specials.  Often times, our specials are driven by day of phone calls about what is available.  I also have a chef du cuisine for both locations that understands how we plan and develop menus.  We use farmers from Loudoun to St. Mary’s Counties (and anywhere in between) to keep things fun and fresh.

You work with many of the local producers? Who do you work with? One of our biggest producers is Arcadia Farms which is our own in house nonprofit farm located on the historic Woodlawn Plantation. We are getting most of our vegetables from here as well as providing produce for a farmers market in Southwest DC. We also work with two farmers in Loudoun that are presently providing us with tomatoes and garlic as well – Shah alee Farms.  We also use Ayshire farms in Upperville for vegetables and occasional meats. We also are getting local corn, tomatoes and fish from Maryland, specifically Bartenfelder and Dragon Creek Farms.

As a customer, what changes have you seen in the local food landscape?

Availability of product.  People are beginning to grow more unique varieties at the request of restaurants.  For example, I’m working with a grower in VA to produce a local San Marzano variety of tomato.  When producers know there will be a demand, then they will work to grow it and are as excited as I am about creating something new and different.

When did you start using local ingredients in creating your menu and recipes?

I’ve always done it.  All of the chefs that I’ve worked for have believed in sourcing things locally to some degree.  It hasn’t always been 100% , but as diners’ expectations have become more in sync with local growing, it’s gotten a lot closer to it.

Do you think your customers understand and appreciate your incorporation of local food into your menus?

I hope so, but I’m realistic that some people want what they want even when things are drastically out of season.  Part of my job is to educate by keeping our menus as seasonal as possible and by communicating menu changes in a manner that both keeps our guests content as well as keeps the quality consistent with what Mother Nature allows.

What local ingredients are not yet available to the local economy that you would like to incorporate into your menu?

Being a very rustic and straight forward restaurant, really everything that we need is locally available.  We try not to over think our menu and for that reason, it stays local and approachable.

How long have you been part of the Farmers Market Chef series?

I started doing Farmers Market demonstrations in 1999 at the Dupont Fresh Farmers Market, but this is my first time at the Falls Church Farmers Market.

What do you like best about the Farmers Market demonstrations?

The most fun is honesty, meeting customers and sharing our philosophy of food and answering their questions.

What will you be preparing for your demonstration?

Panzanella Salad which is a Florentine salad made with tomato, bread, cucumber and fresh mozzarella salad which is a great meal starter and very popular in Italy in the summer. Highlighting all the beautiful corn available right now, we will also prepare a sweet corn and ricotta cannoli with pine nuts.

Be sure to stop by and see Steve at the Falls Church Farmers Market Chef demonstration on Saturday July 30^th from 9am to 11am.