A Little Opera Served with Sicilian-French Fused Cuisine at Gaetano Cannata’s Ortygia Ristorante

BRADENTON -- Something magical happens when you blend a chef who prepares Sicilian-French cuisine, a world-class opera singer and al fresco dining at a cottage in the Village of the Arts. If you missed Ortygia Ristorante’s evening of splendor on Saturday, read on and we’ll attempt to paint in words a splice of song in Sicily.  

Gaetano Cannata, from left, and Joseph Spinella, are both Sicilian and enjoy the fine art of pleasing local people through song and food at Ortygia Ristorante.

“Many people ordered my tilapia and pork tonight,” said Gaetano Cannata, chef and owner of Ortygia Ristorante. “My tilapia is famous and that’s why it keeps running out. The pork is marinated in the herb I grow out in my garden. Can someone grab me the cream?”

On Saturday night, Cannata opened the doors to his cottage-style restaurant, located in the Village of the Arts at 1418 13th Street West, for an evening dedicated to opera singing and Sicilian-French fused cuisine to honor Mother’s Day.

Every table in the restaurant’s courtyard was filled, as Joseph Spinella serenaded people with familiar opera arias and Italian classics.

Back in the kitchen Cannata custom prepared each ordered meal, while artists from the village and other chefs served people Sicilian food from recipes served in Sicily during the years starting in 1790 through 1850. The years when Italian chefs were heavily influenced by French cuisine.

Tilapia Sicilina was dusted in fennel seeds for the evening, sauteed in lemon and Pinot Grigio, then finished with black olives and salted Sicilian capers.

“My favorite appetizer that I love to make, and when I can get people to eat it, is my roasted fennel,” he said, while placing a rosemary sprig on top of a stuffed roasted onion. “Take this out to Holly. Call it Holly's onion if you need to.”

A server quickly scoops up a single roasted onion appetizer and carries it out to the courtyard.

“But my roasted fennel, they just love it,” Cannata said, while using his left hand to lift a pan from the burner and his right hand to open the side oven. “I roast the fennel in a Chardonnay cream, using black olive pancetta and a breadcrumb crust. But people always want to order the stuffed Portobello mushroom appetizer because they can relate to it.”

Gaetano Cannata, chef and owner of Ortygia Ristorante in the Village of the Arts, prepared over 60 custom meals on Saturday night to honor Mother's Day. His restaurant is typically open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner or take-out.

But forget what is familiar for one evening, and picture al fresco dining under the stars, Montepulciano wine served by the bottle and an opera singer trained in New York and preparing for a European tour.

“Well, Joe my singer is loved by my customers tonight,” he added. “Joe would love to do this every month. We tried to do this during the ArtWalks this past season, but the rain and cold weather always kept us from having something like tonight.”

The only problem Cannata had to worry about on Saturday was moving people in and then back out. Nobody wanted to leave their tables. People didn’t dare to pay their bill early and head home, since leaving meant missing another beautifully sung aria or the chef’s presentation of a freshly prepared dish.

There was even that moment where being in Bradenton felt like dining in a world away in the “Old country.”

“I always had really good food at my house,” Cannata said. “Even though I grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Hoboken, New Jersey, everyone still came to my house for dinner because the food was unbelievable. It was that good even though we lived in a really thick Italian neighborhood.”

He said when he moved to Bradenton he searched and searched for that intimate experience where the customer could interact with the chef like they were home, but never found a touch of local Sicily. So, just like the son of parents who fed the neighborhood back in New Jersey, Cannata decided to do the same in the Village of the Arts. 

On Saturday evening, as the last glimmer of color left the sky, servers brought out trays of candles. Spinella had some women in the courtyard reaching for a Kleenex in their purse during his presentation of “Nella Fantasia.”

“It’s such a gorgeous song,” Spinella said, referencing his favorite song of the evening. “Nella Fantasia is a song about hope and a song about living in peace together. I thought it went really good tonight, and all the people dining were having a great time. They were really into it and loved the songs.”

Joseph Spinella, a trained opera singer from New York, performed for tips on Saturday night at Ortygia Ristorante. Many of his songs exuded great emotion. "Each time I open my mouth  to sing, my mission in life is to move people through my voice," he said.

Ernie Finnegan and Erika Decarlo were out dining on Saturday evening, and they sang along during some of their favorite opera songs.

Finnegan had just finished off the roasted pork loin, which was marinated in Mujan tea and extra virgin olive oil, then lightly sweetened in a tamarind reduction.

Dicarlo had enjoyed the lamb loin chops grilled in extra virgin olive oil, rosemary and lemon zest.

“This has been good,” Dicarlo said. “Really, it’s a very good evening because I enjoyed the music and the opera singing. The atmosphere is very romantic.”

Both agreed that the dark chocolate pate, a pate with organic raspberry sauce and imported Italian chocolates, was their favorite part of the evening.

“I’ve been cooking since I was a kid, but I’ve only had this restaurant for two years this October,” Cannata said. “This past year was incredible, but I still don’t advertise. It’s just through word of mouth that every seat is filled in the house tonight.”

Although the chef was equipped with a full serving staff and help on Saturday, he’s not opposed to doing all the work himself if the summer doldrums kick in.  

Erika Decarlo, from left, and Ernie Finnegan, join their server at Ortygia Ristorante to compliment the chef and the opera music.

“For 10 years before I opened my restaurant, I’d bring both of my children to every single Artwalk,” Cannata said. “I was a teacher, but the only time people saw me happy was when I was catering the school’s events. So, I opened up this place."

The evening wound down slowly, and Spinella sung a final encore to people who were having trouble stepping out of an experience that had carried them far away for hours.

The singer stepped inside the restaurant and was greeted by the chef who held out a plate of Spanish chicken thighs that were braised with whole cloves of garlic and smoked Spanish paprika.

“Sit down and eat,” Cannata said to Spinella. “I’ve known this guy for 15 years.

“He came over to my house one day to eat and then after he ate, took off his shoes and took a nap on my sofa. I told him if he’s so comfortable taking a nap in my house after a meal, he’s my friend for life.”