Chef learned the art of cooking in Bari, Italy
Published in the April 16-29, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Agustin Pahua, kitchen manager, presents a plate of polenta al Gorgonzola at Maurizio’s Restaurant in downtown Morgan Hill.
Stepping through the door of a side-street restaurant in downtown Morgan Hill, food lovers are greeted by the happily grinning owner and chef of Maurizio’s Authentic Italian Cuisine with a robust,“Buongiorno, my friend! Welcome!” Maurizio Cutrignelli has made his namesake eatery a legend among locals who want to enjoy a fun night savoring the freshest tortellini, cannelloni, calamari and other Italian dishes.
“Maurizio’s cuisine basically reflects my personality, I would say,” Cutrignelli said. “My food is more representing Italy in general. I don’t just represent Puglia,which is where I’m from. If I’m in Italy, I would represent Puglia, but I’m in the United States so I want to represent Italy. So I bring in different flavors and different tastes from Italy.”
Cutrignelli started his road to establishing Morgan Hill restaurants (he also owns The Good Fork) when, at age 15, he enrolled in the Instituto Professionale Alberghiero di Stato Armando Perotti in Bari, Italy. This state-run culinary school trains chefs, waiters and bartenders. Because there were no openings for students in the chef school, Cutrignelli studied the art of waiting and bar-tending. He learned to cook on the side in basic classes. At 16, he began working seasonally in hotels and resorts throughout Italy and Holland and honed his skills in customer service. In October 1993, Cutrignelli flew in a TWA passenger jet to California and soon found himself in Morgan Hill to start a restaurant job at Casa Mia run by a friend from Bari. He learned to speak English while waiting tables.
In 1994, the ambitious restaurateur opened his first Morgan Hill enterprise. Piccolo was a small Italian deli that quickly grew popular with the city’s residents. In 1996, Metro Magazine proclaimed Cutrignelli’s restaurant had the “Best Sandwich in the South Valley.” In May 1998 he opened Maurizio’s in a house renovated and decorated with help from his father, Michele, who was in Morgan Hill on vacation from Bari. In January 2001, he moved Maurizio’s into the former Jack’s Steakhouse farther north in the downtown district. With the dot.com bust, Maurizio decided to return to a smaller, more intimate space and relocated once again to his current location at 25 E. First St., which he opened February 2004.
The ambiance of Maurizio’s is welcoming and focuses on making all patrons feel like good friends who stopped by for a bite to eat, Cutrignelli said. “It’s more like someone walked into the kitchen, and, even if I don’t know them, I try to make them feel like I’ve known them for years,” he said. “It’s a little more personal how we treat our customers.”
The Maurizio’s kitchen staff produce dishes with an intense traditional Italian flavor using fresh, often locally-grown ingredients. Antipasti starters include a Parmesan polenta with sautéed mushrooms and Gorgonzola cream sauce. The vitello saltimbocca is a veal scallopine, prosciutto, mozzarella and roasted potatoes dish served with fresh market vegetables. Maurizio’s signature pasta is a delicious pinwheel shaped rotelle topped with ham and Parmesan and mozzarella cheese in a tomato cream sauce. The restaurant also offers customers a diverse selection of Italian wines to accompany their meal.
Cutrignelli loves getting the opportunity to demonstrate his culinary art, and always looks forward to diners who grant him the freedom to go off menu and get creative with his cooking.
“When people come in and they don’t like to look at the menu, they say, ‘Three of us,’” he said. “They like to get whatever I make for them. They put it in my hands and I take good care of them. One problem I have is I get bored easily and so I have to do something different all the time. For me, I get excited because they give me a challenge.”
