About The Chefs
Cousins Nunzio Roseo and Gennaro Schiano grew up near Naples, Italy, in the idyllic village of Monte di Procida, which overlooks the islands of Ischia and Procida.
This is the spot that Roman Emperor Nero chose for a vacation when things got too hot in Rome. It is blessed with natural hot springs and rich volcanic soil that yields superb vegetables, fruits, and grapes for wine.
Nunzio and Gennaro were the eldest sons of the Pugliese sisters. While their fathers traveled for months at a time with the Merchant Marines, the boys learned to cook, clean and do other household chores to help their mothers.
They found joy in cooking as they honed the skills handed down from generation to generation: Gennaro learned at his grandmother’s side, while Nunzio was taught by his father, a chef in the Merchant Marines, whenever he came home.
In America, the food they cooked is now called “rustic” or “peasant” cuisine, but for the boys, it was just simple, home-style Italian cooking — based on excellent, fresh, seasonal ingredients that were perfectly balanced with each other.
They learned to use what they had on hand so they could feed many mouths on a limited budget. They grew their own vegetables and picked them fresh each day from the garden; they canned or jarred the bounty for the winter months. They had citrus trees and olive trees, eggs fresh from their hens, and animals that were raised for meat.
When they were young men, the boys yearned to expand their horizons. Nunzio came to the United States in 1984; Gennaro followed five years later. (Their mothers still live within a block of each other in Monte di Procida, where life hasn’t changed much in the interceding years. The sisters still walk to see one another almost every day.)
In America, the cousins worked as chefs in fine Italian restaurants. In December 2007, for their first joint venture, Gennaro and Nunzio opened their own restaurant – so they could introduce others to the food they love. Their dream of bringing an authentic Italian trattoria to Delaware has become a reality. Their trattoria, like those found throughout Italy, is a family-owned, family-friendly, casual neighborhood restaurant serving fresh, unassuming, soul-satisfying fare.
“...we are drawing on the rich resources around us in Delaware; we’re partnering with local purveyors to get the freshest and best meats and seafood.”
For the trattoria and pizzeria, they chose the name BellaVista (“beautiful view”) because nearly every view from Monte di Procida is picturesque. Plus, it is the name of the street where both of their mothers live.
Though BellaVista’s menu might resemble the menus at other Italian restaurants, you’ll taste the difference here. “In Naples, food is fresh and seasonal. It comes from very small farms, where families take real pride in what they grow,” Nunzio explains. “Likewise, we are drawing on the rich resources around us in Delaware; we’re partnering with local purveyors to get the freshest and best meats and seafood.”
They’ll offer imported wines from Italy and new wines from California, selected with the help of friends who have grown up in the wine business
On a recent trip to Italy, the cousins brought back seeds for Italian vegetables that are not available in the states — vegetables that are commonplace in Italy but considered “heirloom” here. “We’re talking to local farms about starting them from seed and growing them for us,” Nunzio says.
“At BellaVista, we make everything from scratch — the pizza dough, the sauces (pasta is pasta, but what makes it taste good is the sauce) and we shred our own cheese,” Gennaro says.
Where Nunzio and Gennaro grew up, Italian cooking was synonymous with good food, good wine and good company.
That’s what you’ll find at BellaVista. Buon Appetito.
