Fortunato Nicotra
Sicilian born and Piedmontese-trained Fortunato Nicotra, has been at Felidia since November 1995. After traveling around Europe and working in several restaurants in Liguria, Piedmont and even in Germany, he went to Sicily in 1985. There, he made the decisive turning point of his career. While at age 23, he began working at the renowned Villa Marchese Restaurant with Franco Marzini.
In 1988, he returned to Torino for a short time, where he worked at the acclaimed Gatto Nero, the first restaurant in the city to receive 2 Michelin stars. Two years later, he returned to Milazzo where he was named Executive Chef of the Saloni Esperanza. Nicotra came to the United States in 1995 to work for Lidia Bastianich.
As the executive chef, Nicotra has added some wonderful new elements to the traditional food at Felidia, which was predominantly from Lidia's homeland, the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Some of chef's Nicotra's dishes include flash seared calamari with Corona bean salad, pear and fresh pecorino-filled ravioli with sauteed aged Pecorino and crushed black pepper, and braised veal cheeks and crisp sweetbread with fennel "fondente" in a blood orange campari sauce, to name a few.
Chef Nicotra also features seasonal menus that showcase ingredients like truffles, heirloom tomatoes and squash, as well as specific regions of Italy like Friuli and Sicily.
Chef Nicotra has appeared in magazines such as Chef, Nation's Restaurant News, Food Arts, New York Magazine and Total Food Service. He lives in New York with his wife Shelly and son, Alex.
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