{"id":908,"date":"2024-07-10T04:45:37","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T04:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/?p=908"},"modified":"2024-07-10T04:45:37","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T04:45:37","slug":"local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Restaurateur from Prospect Heights Achieves #1 Spot on Amazon with Best-Selling Cookbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Natasha Lancaster<\/p>\n

Aperol Spritz Cake. Limoncello Pistachio Tart. Italian Krispie Treats.<\/p>\n

These are some of the\u00a0delectable desserts and creative confections Renato Poliafito, owner of\u00a0Ciao, Gloria<\/a>\u00a0cafe in Prospect Heights, has dreamed up in his new cookbook, \u201cDolci.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to being chock full of mouthwatering and\u00a0unexpected recipes, \u201cDolci<\/a>\u201d has a quality unlike many other cookbooks: It’s seasoned with humor.<\/p>\n

For example, for his\u00a0Tagliolini Suppli,\u00a0a recipe in the savory section, Poliafito writes, \u201cIt feels like a cousin to American state fair food, like deep-fried macaroni and cheese after a study abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the aid of Casey Elsass (co-author) and Kevin Miyazaki (photographer), Poliafito\u00a0builds on this humorous tone and develops a distinct voice across eight sections and almost one hundred recipes.<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s now a James Beard-nominated veteran of the dessert world, Poliafito\u00a0only began baking professionally when he started a business. Despite having no formal training, he left his advertising career to open Baked in 2005, a bakery in Red Hook, which he co-owned with Matt Lewis until 2017.<\/p>\n

Poliafito recalled those early days of Baked, saying, \u201cSometimes ignorance is bliss. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. There were days when the overnight baker would call out sick. So, I would be pulling a full shift and then putting an apron on and going back to the kitchen to bake for the whole night.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Poliafito\u2019s signature sweets contributed to making the bakery in Red Hook a huge success, leading to four cookbooks published as the \u201cBaked\u201d series.<\/p>\n

Still, while Poliafito is a seasoned cookbook author, he considers \u201cDolci\u201d his \u201cfirst solo album\u201d because of its personal origin and content. In the Introduction to \u201cDolci,\u201d he says that he felt caught between two worlds as a child. Born in Queens to two Sicilian immigrants, Poliafito struggled to identify wholly with either country.<\/p>\n

\"ode-to-iris\"
Ode to Iris recipe from “Dolci.” . Photo by Kevin Miyazaki<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With \u201cDolci,\u201d Poliafito\u00a0is embracing that part of himself\u00a0“that lives in the in-between” he writes. By blending his Italian background with his American upbringing, Poliafito creates innovative desserts that enhance classic flavors. Or in his own words, his recipes come from \u201cthe shared traditions of nonnas, from Bensonhurst to Bologna,\u201d ranging from a traditional Italian Easter tart called Pasteria to Black and White Cookies.<\/p>\n

In addition to being an ode to his Italian-American upbringing, Poliafito thinks of \u201cDolci\u201d as the \u201cunofficial Ciao, Gloria cookbook.\u201d He opened Ciao, Gloria in the fall of 2019, after leaving Baked in 2017. Less than six months later, COVID-19 hit, and Poliafito, like many other restaurateurs, was panicked.<\/p>\n

\"ciao-gloria\"
Ciao, Gloria on a Friday afternoon. . Photo by Natasha Lancaster for BK Reader.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was a wreck because I had just invested all of my savings, all of my partner’s savings … And now, I may have lost all of it,\u201d Poliafito explained.<\/p>\n

Although the first couple of months were difficult, the Ciao, Gloria team found creative ways to adapt and came out of the pandemic as a beloved go-to bakery: \u201cI think in the long run, we really did become a place for the neighborhood,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We were just there all of the time for our customers. And it shows today.”<\/p>\n

\"renato-poliafito-by-natasha\"
Renato Poliafito, author of “Dolci” in his office. . Photo by Natasha Lancaster for BK Reader.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indeed, the cafe is filled with a steady stream of people, from those grabbing lunch on their break, to people chatting for hours over a piece of Banana Nutella Snack Cake. And just like the cafe, Renato hopes that people continue to return to\u00a0\u201cDolci\u201d as a reference for years to come, saying, \u201cI hope that it becomes a go-to for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans of Poliafito\u2019s work also will be excited to learn that he\u2019s opening a new \u201cfine-casual pasta place\u201d across the street from Ciao, Gloria that will be announced soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Natasha Lancaster Aperol Spritz Cake. Limoncello Pistachio Tart. Italian Krispie Treats. These are some of the\u00a0delectable desserts and creative confections Renato Poliafito, owner of\u00a0Ciao, Gloria\u00a0cafe in Prospect Heights, has dreamed up in his new cookbook, \u201cDolci.\u201d In addition to being chock full of mouthwatering and\u00a0unexpected recipes, \u201cDolci\u201d has a quality unlike many other cookbooks: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5757,"featured_media":909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-drinks"],"yoast_head":"\nLocal Restaurateur from Prospect Heights Achieves #1 Spot on Amazon with Best-Selling Cookbook - Clinton Hill News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Local Restaurateur from Prospect Heights Achieves #1 Spot on Amazon with Best-Selling Cookbook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Natasha Lancaster Aperol Spritz Cake. Limoncello Pistachio Tart. Italian Krispie Treats. These are some of the\u00a0delectable desserts and creative confections Renato Poliafito, owner of\u00a0Ciao, Gloria\u00a0cafe in Prospect Heights, has dreamed up in his new cookbook, \u201cDolci.\u201d In addition to being chock full of mouthwatering and\u00a0unexpected recipes, \u201cDolci\u201d has a quality unlike many other cookbooks: […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Clinton Hill News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-10T04:45:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/07\/screenshot-2024-07-09-at-91350-am.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Fogel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Fogel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/clintonhill\/local-restaurateur-from-prospect-heights-achieves-1-spot-on-amazon-with-best-selling-cookbook\/\",\"name\":\"Local Restaurateur from Prospect Heights Achieves #1 Spot on Amazon with Best-Selling Cookbook - 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