Inspirational Restaurateur Rocco Showcases the Flavors of the Farm
It didn’t start out this way. Vina Enoteca, Rocco Scordella’s rustic Italian restaurant housed in the Stanford Barn, began as a white-tablecloth, fine-dining-experience restaurant, a testament to Rocco’s history with Mario Batali’s Del Posto in New York City. But it just wasn’t right in the historic barn, whose sturdy brickwork and wooden beam architecture reflects its origin as a working winery for surrounding vineyards in the late 1800s.
What was right was his obsession with uncompromising, responsibly sourced ingredients. All the pastas and bread products are made from scratch, in house, every day. And Rocco raves about the dessert creations of his pastry chef: “They are spectacular.”
“We came from the dirt, the earth,” says Rocco of his Italian family, whose great-grandfather managed Charlie Chaplin’s farm in Switzerland in the 1920s, “and we all eventually go back to our roots.” Rocco grew up in a small town in rural Italy. Like many who live in small towns, the family knew the farmers, they knew the butcher and they trusted where all the food came from. “It taught me that you have to be involved.”
It doesn’t take much for him to go back to the dirt these days. Vina Enoteca is within walking distance of the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, a working laboratory and farm that serves the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Science at the university and supplies fresh vegetables, fruit and herbs to the campus dining facilities. The farm also provides fresh produce to the restaurant.
The six-acre farm is flush with rows of crops, a greenhouse and a multi-stage compost area. The place just smells fresh. On a rainy February afternoon the greenhouse had sprouts of herbs, beets, onions and a host of other goodies. Head groundskeeper Will Chen starts the upcoming crops there before planting them in the outdoor garden, sourcing non-GMO seeds from multiple suppliers, including projects from Stanford students. As if at a runway show presaging the hot items of the next fashion season, Will ripped off some Salanova lettuce to taste, saying this will be the salad this summer. For the record: earthy, a hint of nuttiness and slightly bitter.
Rocco says his chefs salivate when they come back from the farm, thinking of ways to incorporate the produce. He knows it’s cliché, but the tomatoes are extraordinary (it is an Italian restaurant after all), the herbs are incredible and he is hoping that newly planted stone fruit trees produce for the summer. He values highquality vegetables and produce, but knowing they have been grown responsibly is equally important. “It’s easy to buy cheap ingredients. But my rule is, ‘If I wouldn’t serve it to my kids, it’s not on the menu.’”
That includes the pigs. Rocco buys his pork and bacon from Rancho Llano Seco in Chico. It is one of the last remaining land grants made by Mexican California Governor Pio de Jesus Pico. In 1861, the Thieriot family bought the property with a charge to maintain the balance of agriculture, livestock husbandry and conservation. That responsible farming bloodline remains and is evidenced by their relationship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation groups to restore native crops and grasses, and preserve wetlands and indigenous forests along the Sacramento River.
The herd, at 350 sows, is tiny in comparison to today’s high-volume commercial pork operations with 300,000 sows. Charlie’s pigs produce meat that is dark, dense and immensely flavorful. “They don’t have a lot of stress in their lives.” Quite the understatement considering Charlie treats them to heat lamps in the winter, misters in the summer and feeds them wheat and barley as opposed to the typical corn and soy diet of most commercial ranches. “The bacon just melts in your mouth,” says Rocco,
It is important for Rocco to know what is behind raising all of the animals and ingredients the chefs use. He only buys fish that have been certified “never farmed” from Santa Barbara. He tells a story of a friend who offered him a box of shiitake mushrooms for a third of the market price. As much as he trusted his friend, he didn’t buy them because the origin could not be certified.
Vina Enoteca has hit its stride. At first, Rocco thought it might be better to have a street location—better foot traffic and visibility. But the Stanford Barn location is perfect for his clientele. The courtyard allows for outdoor dining 10 months a year and is appealing to couples but casual enough for families with kids.
What’s next? Rocco wants more women in the kitchen—“less drama than men”— and hopes to soon make his own salumi and mozzarella. He also wants to find a way to raise bees to address the controversy around the purity of honey.
The restaurant business is changing, he says: It’s less fancy and more about the food. “The farmers and what they produce are the new rock stars in this business.” That may be true, but make no mistake: It is restaurants like this that make ingredients sing.
4 Fun Foodie Facts about Rocco and Vina Enoteca
He went to culinary school in Italy at age 14!
He met his wife, Shannon, from San Carlos, at Del Posto in New York. He didn’t speak much English, but thinks that helped their early chemistry.
He bought a chicken for his backyard to teach his kids where eggs come from. A slightly uncomfortable dinner conversation followed when Shannon made baked chicken.
The restaurant name, which is used to describe a special type of local wine shop in Italy, is a nod to Vina Ranch, the Leland Stanford family vineyard.
