Diners at the 2-month-old Val+tino restaurant in downtown Fort Lauderdale may have noticed a glaring absence this past month: Where’s head chef Giovanni Rocchio?
Just 40 days into his new job, Rocchio left what was supposed to be the rebirth of his acclaimed Valentino Cucina Italiana during the last weekend of February, the chef and ownership told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week.
Now the Italian-Mediterranean spot owners once christened “Valentino 2.0” is in quiet rebranding mode after opening in January, with an imminent name change and a retooled tasting-style menu under newly promoted chef Jake Abbott.
Gone are Rocchio’s signature handmade pasta dishes including butternut squash tortelli with brown butter and sage and cavatelli osso buco with porcini and ricotta salata. A slimmer seasonal five-course tasting menu ($129 each, plus $85 with optional wine pairing) now replaces the standalone pasta and dessert sections, although two pastas and two desserts still appear.
Also gone: Pastry chef Carlos Salgado (ex-One Door East), whom Rocchio says quit the same night he did.
“They can’t make all my pastas and now most are off the menu,” said Rocchio, reached Thursday in Manhattan on a business trip. “I get messages all the time from customers asking me, ‘Are you gone? Well, then I’m not going back.’ ”
Rocchio said behind-the-scenes management drama and “a toxic environment” led him to resign, which stemmed from a spat between he and a manager about Valentino Cucina Italiana’s original staff, many of whom were rehired for Val+tino’s revival.
For his part, Val+tino owner Mike Linder on Wednesday declined to say whether Rocchio quit or was fired, nor did he confirm details about the alleged rift that drove out his head chef. But he did acknowledge the timeframe of Rocchio’s departure. His SFL Hospitality Group also operates next-door Canyon, YOT Bar & Kitchen, Jet Runway Café and South Bar & Kitchen.
“Giovanni’s a great guy, and we parted ways amicably,” Linder said. “As we evolved, we started doing things differently. (Giovanni) left a good legacy of what the concept was.”
Val+tino’s Facebook account as of Thursday afternoon still listed the restaurant’s old staffing regime, naming Rocchio as executive chef and Abbott as chef de cuisine. Linder says that should be updated soon, along with a new name, signage and seasonal menu “in mid-May.”
“We wanted to give everyone a full picture all at once,” Linder said. “People have been noticing that Giovanni is gone but said the food is just as great. My concern about this is zero. I’m very confident in what’s about to come.”
Linder said there will be no interruption in Val+tino’s quality of service.
“Jake (Abbott) created every single menu item that is currently on Val+Tino’s menu,” he said. “He has his own great recipes. Whatever tasks Giovanni was doing have been taken over.”
Ohio native Abbott cut his teeth in New York’s restaurant scene working with Laurent Tourondel and with Joe Anthony at Michelin two-star Gabriel Kreuther, where he struck up a friendship with Rocchio.
Val+tino plans to test pop-up lunches and debut a late-night bar menu during the second half of 2024, Linder said, adding that the restaurant’s name will be changed to reflect “the legacy that Valentino has left behind.”
The restaurant’s name is steeped in South Florida history. Rocchio’s father, Tony, debuted the first Valentino in Lauderhill in 1972 before relocating it to Plantation in the ’80s. Rocchio worked there until his father’s retirement in 2000. After opening in 2006 at a former tire shop on South Federal, Valentino Cucina Italiana racked up acclaim when it moved into a bigger location at 620 S. Federal Highway in 2012, including a rare four-star review by the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 2019. Valentino Cucina shut in 2020.
Val+tino is located at 620 S. Federal Highway. Call 954-451-1200 or go to Valandtino.com.