Adriana Giramonti (1929–2016) was an Italian-American chef who co-founded restaurant Giramonti's in Mill Valley, California in 1977.
Adriana Giramonti | |
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| Born | Adriana Silvestri May 25, 1929[1] |
| Died | June 6, 2016 (aged 87)[1] |
| Spouse | Nino Giramonti |
| Culinary career | |
Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s) | |
Early life and education
editAdriana Silvestri was born on May 24, 1929, in Presenzano, Italy.[1] Her parents were Clotilde Pascale and Umberto Silvestri.[2] Silvestri was one of five siblings. The family lived in a village near Monte Cassino. The village was occupied by the Germans during World War II. The Germans ransacked the village for food and supplies.[1] The family was frequently hungry as a result of the occupation. When she was a child she painted and won an art competition. Her prize was a kiss on the cheek from Mussolini.[1][2]
After World War II, the family moved to Rome.[1] Silvestri's parents taught her how to cook, preparing simple meals for their large family using produce and ingredients from local Roman markets.[1][3] The young Silvestri was a childhood friend of Sophia Loren, a relationship that would sustain throughout their lives.[4] The family spent their summers in Nettuno.[3]
Silvestri moved to San Francisco in 1956, settling in the North Beach, San Francisco neighbourhood.[1] She sought to become a teacher, but was unable to find a job in the education field.[5]
Career and life
editSilvestri began working in the kitchen at an Italian restaurant called Little Joe's. She met Nino Giramonti, who waited tables at various restaurants.[1] The couple would eventually marry and have two sons.[2]
After fifteen years of working at Little Joe's,[1] Adriana Giramonti, alongside Nino, considered buying Little Joe's, which changed ownership a number of times when Giramonti worked there.[4] However, the couple decided to start new and opened their namesake restaurant Giramonti's, in Mill Valley, California in 1977.[1] The restaurant overlooked Richardson Bay.[4] The menu focused on Roman cuisine. SPQR was the theme - with menus and signage at the restaurant displaying the motto of ancient Rome.[1] The restaurant was reviewed positively in Gourmet in 1981.[6] In 1983, Giramonti was featured on Great Chefs.[1] Three years later, in 1986, Clint Eastwood described Giramonti's as being not "pretty" but serving "some of the best food in the Bay Area."[7] Dishes on the menu included Roman-style artichokes, Empress mushrooms, crostini with chicken livers, marinated eggplant, linguine with prawns, and veal in mustard cream sauce.[5] For her veal, Giramoti sourced local, avoiding mass raised synthetically fed veal. The San Francisco Examiner called Giramonti a "master chef" and called it, alongside Ondine, "Marin's most favored dinner houses" in 1981.[4]
Giramonti opened Adriana's in San Rafael, California in 1985.[1] As of 1992, Adriana's served 100 meals daily and grossed $1 million annually.[8] She appeared regularly on the morning news program on KGO-TV.[2]
During her career, Giramonti never called herself "chef" choosing to refer to herself as a cook. She acknowledged that there were not many women being celebrated as chefs during the 1980s. Giramonti believed that women chefs were more creative and experimental than male chefs.[5] She worked five days a week, starting in the kitchen at 10 a.m.[4]
Later life and legacy
editGiramonti taught her grandchildren how to cook, with gnocchi being a favorite dish of the children. She also continued painting throughout her entire life, displaying her own paintings in her house.[2]
Giramonti died on June 6, 2016, in San Rafael.[1][2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Adriana Giramonti (1929 - 2016)". Great Chefs. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Adriana Giramonti Obituary (1929 - 2016) - San Francisco Chronicle". Legacy. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Janet (10 April 1996). "CENTRAL EXPOSURE / In the second of three parts, we look at four Bay Area chefs from central Italy -- and the homestyle dishes of their region". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Read, R.B. (6 December 1981). "Adriana, simply". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 154. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Hower, George (29 March 1984). "Only Two Women: Thirteen 'Great Chefs' have menus in new book". The Press Democrat. p. 20. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Metzelthin, Pearl Violette (1981). Gourmet. Condé Nast Publications. p. 70. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ California. New West Communications Corporation. 1986. p. 84. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ Directory of High-volume Independent Restaurants. Business Guides, Incorporated. 1992. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-86730-565-4. Retrieved 3 January 2021.