Following in the same footsteps as generations did before him, Quirico Saltavore Giovanni Della Santina spent his childhood helping his grandmothers, Pia Fontana Della Santina and Clary Gambogi Barsotti, prepare the family meals from recipes built on tradition and genuine love.
Tuscan country dishes pay homage to celebrate the season’s harvests, slow-roasted lamb, rabbit, duck, cured meats like prosciutto, sausages, pasta, etc. daily loaves of bread resting on their window seals.
When asked, Quirico, now known as Don, “When did you perfect your bread-making techniques?” he answered, “I perfected this pre-conception, I think. It came naturally to me.”
Don shared one other early childhood memory when his grandmother gave him a tall sided bowl containing egg yolks and sugar and a large whisk. : Keep whisking until I tell you to stop.” she instructed. “I felt like my arms were going to fall off!” but the end product after the addition of a pinch of cinnamon, drops of vanilla and Marsala wine, a velvety smooth Zabaglione sauce, an integral part for a traditional Tiramisu dessert, was worth all the effort.
As a young adult in 1960, Don ventured out across the sea to America. He chooses to reside in the North Beach area of San Francisco as a baker by trade. Five years later, he joined his uncle Adolph Della Santina in the city of Marin to work in the family restaurant, the highly acclaimed Marin Joe’s.
After 25 years of successful ownership in a thriving business, he decided to venture out on his own beautiful Sonoma valley. In 1990 Della Santina’s Trattoria was born.