The new eight to ten menu items are the result of
a recent two-week gastronomic research trip to Italy Gio took with his parents, Frank Contreras and Anna Sherwyn — also known as his business partners. The taste of Italy they brought back with them includes a new wine list, salads, pasta, and meat dishes inspired from the regions of Florence and Tuscany. Rustic cooking is the summer theme and its authen-
ticity is in the high quality ingredients, according to Gio, a 1997 graduate of Santa Barbara City College’s culinary program. The ingredients and keeping the preparation simple is the key. Petto di Pollo, Piatto Italiano, and guancile are destined to be summer blockbuster dishes. Petto di Pollo is a flattened chicken breast cooked Milanese style, i.e. fried, and topped with a baby arugula salad. A take on the traditional antipasto salad is Piatto Italiano, clover honey infused with truffle oil drizzled over cured meats and imported cheeses. Guancile is a type of bacon from the jowls of the pig that is cured with sea salt.
Cooking these dishes requires bridging the fresh-
est ingredients and the most authentic ones. And, Gio crosses the bridge very well. Carpinteria farmers provide the best in produce while some ingredients, such as cerigonola olives, come straight from Italy. And, by the way, in Italy “there is no such thing as
Italian dressing,” Gio tells us. “That’s an invention of Kraft or Wishbone. Each of our salads has their own dressing. Our chopped salad is the most popular. Its dressing is lemon and mustard.” Insalata Italiana recently made its debut at the
Linden eatery. It is created with hydroponic lettuce from Westland Floral, avocados from Bliss Ranch, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Not only do dishes pay homage to local agriculture, the menu includes the Carpinteria-nization of classic favorites. Such as avocados accenting the Caprese salad, typically made of only tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. Since childhood, Chef Gio aimed for a career with
food. Outside of a stint with Hyatt Hotels he was a private chef and caterer before Giannfranco’s opened over three years ago. “I wanted to create a place that the Rat Pack would
86 CarpinteriamagaZINe
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