“People call the restaurant just to congratulate me. Others ask if earth-amisu is on the menu. »
Luca Cianciulli deserved his Father’s Day after measuring the extent of the power of television. Quebec now knows that it is the big winner of the Chiefs! : the confrontation – and that he made the best reinvented tiramisu that Normand Laprise has ever eaten! –, while he and his loved ones have kept the secret of his victory since filming ended three months ago. “It was so much fun watching the show with my friends who didn’t know what was going to happen,” emphasizes Luca, father of two children.
The candidates of Chiefs! fight stress on screen that would be unbearable for many people. However, they also experience great emotions away from the cameras.
Luca and his partner Maxime welcomed their son Paco a week after the final was made. “Everything worked out well in the end and it was stimulating to support Luca, especially for the menu for the final [NDLR : qui comprenait son fameux terre-amisu] », Indicates Maxime, seated Wednesday morning at their Moccione restaurant with Paco in her arms while Luca was in the kitchen with a fridge repairman.
Maxime was more than halfway through her pregnancy when the head researcher of Chiefs! proposed to Luca to take part in a competition bringing together candidates of the previous 12 seasons. “It was during the rush a month before Christmas,” he remembers. I didn’t say yes right away, but I really wanted to do it. »
Luca consulted his beloved and their partners, his brother Giancarlo Cianciulli and Gabriel Bisson. There was more to lose than to gain, but the desire to relive the adrenaline of Chiefs! was too strong.
The grandson of his grandmothers
In two weeks, the family will fly to Italy, near Naples, in the village of Calabritto, to present the youngest to Luca’s paternal grandmother, with whom he spent part of his summers as a child. Her nonna and his late grandfather were market gardeners, winegrowers and olive oil producers.
My 84-year-old grandmother is the best cook in the world, with so much comfort and ease.
Luca Cianciulli
Luca also cooked a lot with his maternal grandmother, also of Italian origin, who had a huge garden – with vines and chickens – in her backyard in Montreal North.
When he was young, Luca was passionate about soccer and had ideas in his head, like excavating an in-ground swimming pool in his parents’ backyard! He was determined and rather “tough”, hence the name of his restaurants, moccionewhich means “brat” in Italian.
PHOTO MARC-ANDRÉ LAPIERRE, PROVIDED BY ATTRACTION
Luca Cianciulli with his daughter Giulia
From Eggsotique to Toqué!
The first restaurant where Luca worked, in Boucherville, was called L’Eggsotique (a name that people confused with that of a strip bar!). Before serving lunch to 200 people, we had to get up at 5 a.m. “I understood in hindsight that my boss Gilles inspired me a lot. After two years, I was less motivated and he said to me: “Luca, you don’t have to stay and you can leave.” It hurt his pride, but he was right. »
It was there that Luca enrolled at the Institute of Tourism and Hospitality of Quebec (ITHQ) where Pasquale Vari taught him. His future judge Chiefs! taught him – sometimes the hard way – what professional rigor is in a kitchen.
During his training, Luca did two internships in Italy. A first plus dolce vita in a pizzeria and a second rather spartan one in a Michelin-starred restaurant, La Parolina, with chef Iside de Cesare. “I learned more high-end and gourmet techniques and how to make fresh pasta to perfection. »
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Luca Cianciulli in the Toqué kitchen! in 2015
At 20 years old, Luca was the youngest of the brigade when he participated in the second season of Chiefs!. He was eliminated in the second round, but Normand Laprise saw his potential and hired him six months later in his kitchen.
Le Toqué!, with Normand Laprise and Charles-Antoine Crête [aujourd’hui chef propriétaire du Montréal Plaza]this is certainly the bulk of my professional training.
Luca Cianciulli
It’s at Toqué! that Luca met Maxime, also a graduate of ITHQ. It was a dream for her to be involved there. Luca would resign three months later, after six years of loyal service. Love spoke and she followed it on a road trip in the USA.
PHOTO YAN TURCOTTE, PROVIDED BY ATTRACTION
Luca Cianciulli at 20 in 2011
HIS restaurant
Luca, who created menus at the age of 7, always cherished the dream of having HIS restaurant. The opportunity presented itself when a premises on Rue Villeray became available in 2018. As soon as it opened, the neighborhood adopted Moccione, which allowed its gang to get through the pandemic. Since then, the original Moccione has become a pizzeria and the signature restaurant has been reborn at the corner of Saint-Denis and Faillon streets.
PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE MOCCIONE FACEBOOK PAGE
Luca Cianciulli before the official opening of Moccione in 2018
The Moccione family has 40 employees, many of whom have been around for a long time. “I am proud of the family atmosphere that we have created and the healthy work environment,” explains Luca. Customers feel like they are coming into our home. »
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
Reservations open two weeks in advance at Moccione while it is first come, first served on the terrace.
The real pleasure of cooking according to Luca? “Nourish with love. Comfort with a dish. Make someone feel good with just one bite. »
PHOTO MARC-ANDRÉ LAPIERRE, PROVIDED BY ATTRACTION
The famous earth-amisu with porcini mushrooms
Cooking is a clan affair and significant encounters for the one who still pinches himself for having made the final with his “brother” Guillaume Couture. Luca can’t wait to visit the mentor of the Chiefs! Colombe Saint-Pierre, at Bic. And without Maxime, who specializes in desserts, he probably would not have had the idea of pouring coffee over mushrooms, and the word of the week in Quebec would not have been earth-amisu.
Check out the recipe for earth-amisu