Friends,
It is with great sadness that we publicly announce our beloved, talented Executive Chef, Anthony Calabrese, has passed away.
Anthony was more than our chef. He was our friend. He and his family are permanent members of the Cantoro family. Truly, Anthony was loved at Cantoro by his employers, staff, and his clients. News of his passing has hit us all very hard to the point it is difficult to talk about.
We want to tell you a bit about Anthony. He was here from the very beginning to open Cantoro Italian Market and Trattoria in Plymouth with the Fallone Family. Together, they created the menus and were steadfast to update them each season to keep every ingredient perfectly fresh. This was something Anthony took great pride in. He also took pride in building a team of culinary experts, always looking to grow.
“Guests and friends come eagerly to the trattoria every week to try the specials Anthony and his team created. Anthony took delight in seeing customers’ excitement whenever he served a new dish. He also was uncompromising when hiring staff in his kitchen: he wanted to work with people who shared his passion for food. He built a staff of culinary experts. Anthony was our friend, and family, we will miss him everyday,” said John and Michael Fallone.
His mentee in the Cantoro kitchen, Executive Sous Chef, Chef Matt (Ang) Gioutsos, who shines even brighter in his already developed culinary skills because of Anthony’s expertise, is already missing Anthony’s daily jokes. We all are missing his smile.
Cantoro was his home so much so, that he began his afternoon with lunch here, spending time with the Fallone family to discuss new dishes, recipes and wines.
When he wasn’t back in the kitchen putting a new twist on his modern Italian cuisine, making the perfect Bolognese, with the most expensive ingredients possible or empowering his team to shine in their own incredible culinary skills, Anthony was up front in our Prepared Foods section, chatting it up with customers and offering cooking advice. We know you all adored him.
Well-loved with a personality and face for television, Anthony could be seen regularly offering cooking advice on the top local news stations including Fox2, WDIV, and WXYZ Channel 7/TV20. Long after the segments ended in the mornings, he was welcome to linger at the stations, chatting with camera crews, reporters, producers and news directors, always on the topics of food, wine, Italy and travel. He loved to tell you his favorite restaurant meal outside of Cantoro “Charlie Trotter in Chicago.”
He loved to talk about his days working with Takashi at Tribute, where he infused his knowledge there into his modern Italian dishes.
Anthony was generous in sharing his skills. He would tell you the perfect olive oil to pair with the perfect pasta. He could offer you a new herb idea to put a spin on everyday meat dishes, and the best method to prepare it. And, if you were unsure about cheese, he was quick to educate you on its flavor and origins – all to please your palate.
Anthony received national recognition recently when the Cooking Channel came to Cantoro to film him and share with the world his pasta dishes. It’s going to be hard to watch the airing of Mangia Meals when it re-airs the day before Thanksgiving, at 10 p.m., but we want to see his happy face again.
He loved cooking, a skill he learned from his Mom and Nene (grandmother) throughout his childhood and growing into his teens. He fell in love with cooking which brought him to the renowned culinary arts program at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, where he serves on the culinary advisory board for the culinary arts program, under Shawn Loving, CMC.
“Working with Anthony for many years, at multiple restaurants, his appreciation for food and wine was unmatched,” Sommelier, Trattoria General Manager Alex Bazzy said. “Chef had a razor-sharp palate. Whenever a wine stumped me in the dining room I would always run it past Chef. His reputation and legacy will be remembered as part of the Cantoro history forever. He is already sorely missed.”
As his father was born in Molise, Italy, (then moved to London, Ontario) Anthony came from an Italian household where cooking was a constant. His passion for Italian style cooking lead him to study – and perfect – recipes from every Italian region. With each dish that he made, Anthony would always circle back to his stories about his family, commenting about ingredients or cooking methods that each of his family member liked, or disliked. His cooking was deeply connected to his love for his family.
This is a tremendous loss.
While also respecting their privacy, we ask that you say prayers for Anthony’s father, mother, brother and family and friends who loved him.
Thank you, Anthony, for sharing your friendship and tremendous culinary talent with the world.
Love,
The Cantoro family
