Chef Anthony Sicignano has made quite a name for himself. Having worked at The Breakers Palm Beach since 1993, he is currently the Executive Chef, overseeing over a hundred chefs at nine distinct restaurant concepts on the hotel property. Chef Anthony and I sat down at HMF at The Breakers and, over some small plates, discussed his career, his cuisine, and how he does it all.
How did you get your start?
I was in my senior year of high school, and my grandfather had retired from the construction business and opened up a small luncheonette. I would help him out on the weekends, cooking semi-professionally. And then I went on to graduate in 1988 from the Culinary Institute of America. But, when I look back, my love of food and cooking really came from growing up in an Italian family. All the men loved to cook. And holidays always revolved around food. On Christmas Eve, we would always have a million courses of seafood, and different styles of cooking because half of the family were descendants from Sicily and the other half from Naples.
How long have you been working at The Breakers?
I've been here since 1993. I started out as Assistant Chef of the fine dining restaurant, then ultimately was promoted to Executive Sous Chef, at which point I left the hotel for a short period of time to be a partner in a restaurant in New Hampshire. It was an eye-opening experience, and not a good one, and I ended up wondering which direction my career was heading. Luckily, I received a call from the Executive Chef at The Breakers, who called and asked me to come back as Banquet Director. That role solidified for me that I belong in the kitchen, and I went back into the kitchen as Executive Sous Chef. Subsequent to that, my mentor and friend, Executive Chef Matthias Radits, unfortunately became ill and when he retired I was promoted to Executive Chef.
What are your five favorite staple items to use when cooking?
A good olive oil, salt (you can't get away without it when used properly), ripe tomatoes, prime New York steak and spaghetti squash.
As Executive Chef, you are in charge of the menus. How often do you change the menus?
We do a major menu overhaul at times when we update a concept, and we will change 3-7 items out once a year, but we do find that a lot of clients come back looking for their favorite items.
Where do you source your meat and seafood from?
We spend a lot of time on this. There are some local vendors we use and some not-so-local vendors. For our prime beef, we use Meat by Linz in Chicago, and they have a special program that specializes in 100% black angus prime beef. Its scientific - they track the whole breeding line to ensure consistent size and consistent fat content. We are confident it's the best out there. Fish is a different story. We use several different vendors and look to get the absolute freshest fish. We will make the extra investment money wise to buy the product freshly-caught or flow-in.
You also have an on-site garden.
Yes, we get six or seven months out of it. There's every herb you can imagine out there, and some great tomatoes. We just started planting some tropical fruit trees out there, as well. And we partner tremendously with local farmers. We deal with a dozen farms, and for most of the growing season, we buy all of our heirloom tomatoes, basil, herbs from them. And there are farms that grow greens called kai kai farms that we work with as well.
Let's talk about HMF. What's the dining concept?
I would use the phrase "the everlasting cocktail hour". The menu is international tapas - true to form and authentic, with small sharing plates which allow for it to be an event instead of just a meal. It's a very scenic atmosphere, a fallback to the "mad men" age.
Courtesy of The Breakers Palm Beach
What do you consider some of the signature items on the menu?
It's a diverse menu. The waygu beef sliders are one of our best-sellers. I also love Nonna's meatballs which are something I would have had as a kid, the specialty sushi rolls, and our specialty robata grill, where we do our steaks and fish, which allow for some unique flavors.
The Circle, which is in the room just behind HMF, is known for their Sunday brunch. What do you think makes the brunch unique?
I think the variety and quality of items. The fact that you can get everything from fresh main lobster and stone crabs to a full sushi bar to prime rib carvings to international-type items, like Moroccan or Indian, to desserts.
You're originally from New York. In terms of Flagler Steakhouse, did you rely on your New York roots in coming up with the concept?
We looked at a lot of steakhouses in New York and Chicago, and they mostly have a boys-club, masculine feel. We wanted a nice restaurant - not just a steakhouse. We wanted to cast a wider net and take it up a couple of notches so we focused on great steaks with great sides as our first focus, and then we expanded the menu to include fish and Italian food so that it's a bit more diverse and more refined without over-doing it.
How did you decide to put milk and cookies on the menu?
I think the thought process was - who doesn't like milk and cookies? We try and take the passion out of doing too much out of the equation.
Now, Echo Restaurant is different from the others in that it breaks out the menu into the four elements (Wind, Earth, Fire, Water).
Yes, it was very cutting edge at the time we implemented it, and hopefully still is. And we have some great simple items that we put our own spin on such as the fried rice. I love that there is so much going on in it - between the shrimp and the pork and the egg and the crispy onions on top of it.
Did any of your Italian recipes make it onto the menu at the Italian Restaurant?
You know, the funny thing about Italian food is, its very objective. I can say that the Nonna's meatball is a dead-on ringer for what I cook at home. And, at one time, I was using the Naples meat sauce, a gravy as well call it, but if you are not used to it, you might not like it. So we try and focus on fresh and light tomato sauce, something more universal that will go with a lot of the dishes we do there
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The Seafood Bar is under construction. What can we expect from the menu when it re-opens in December?
I think some of the great seafood bar items everyone knows will be back on the menu, plus a twist on some of the items. Without a doubt, it will be the best seafood in the area. I've been looking at so many menus from everywhere, and I feel really good about our menu and am very excited for the re-opening. We have a new beautiful show kitchen with some great new equipment, as well.
Courtesy of The Breakers Palm Beach
What is the hardest dish to make on your menus?
There are a couple items , but they are actually the more simple items. The pizzas, the burgers, the steaks. I probably got into the business for the fine dining, but what keeps me in the business is learning how to cook all these items consistently.
What's the hardest part of your job?
Several years ago, I would look at the process and ask "how do you get the consistency you need and keep everyone happy?" Back then, the challenge was how to do all of it. Now, the challenge is "how do we keep it", because I think we have figured it out. The biggest challenge is getting everyone to keep the feeling of "I can't wait to get to work". Creativity comes up as an issue where everyone wants to do their own thing, and temperament usually pops up when working with difficult people. We are working in a high-volume environment but we have our chefs on a five day schedule. We treat everyone with respect - no one gets yelled at, no one gets demeaned in front of others. And challenge is to live up to that standard, to be different, and not to succumb to the volume or the creative angst.
What advice would you give to an aspiring chef?
You have permission to fail. Don't have an ego, approach this business as very long-term. Be patient -towards yourself and others. Be kind. And don't get too caught up in what your idea of food is.
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