Patti Jackson’s favorite aspect of her role at I Trulli is that her stamp is on every single thing that comes out of the kitchen: not only is the menu her handiwork, but also the breadsticks, the chocolates, the duck prosciutto, and the guanciale that goes into her bucatini all’amatriciana.
She finds inspiration from her travels to Italy, old classic cookbooks, and most of all, New York City’s Greenmarkets. When it comes to sourcing ingredients for everything from her lovage salad to the restaurant’s critically acclaimed veal cheeks, Jackson is a devout fan and huge supporter of local farmers. Cooking with their ingredients makes her feel “like she’s in her own village in Italy,” because the seasons and flavors are what she grew up with. “That’s what I love about Italian food,” she says. “It’s all about freshness, simplicity, and making the most of the ingredients themselves. That’s what I strive for, and live for, in my own kitchen.”
Jackson started her career at an early age growing up in Clark’s Summit, Pennsylvania. “As far back as I can remember,” she says, “I would bake my grandmother’s Christmas cookie recipe and Italian wedding cookies.” Little did she know that this childhood pastime would lead to a career as one of the nation’s top pastry chefs. She worked her way through college and then culinary school at Baltimore International College as a cook for some of the city’s top restaurants. In Washington, D.C., her cooking brought her to the attention of Pino Luongo, who asked her to come to New York as his pastry chef for the opening of Mad.61.
Jackson then went on to open twenty-two restaurants across the United States, working alongside some of the most highly regarded chefs in America today, including Cesare Casella, Gianni Scappin, and Marta Pulini. She was tapped by Luongo to be executive chef at Le Madri and then worked as pastry chef at Alto before being asked by Nicola Marzovilla to come on board as executive chef at I Trulli and Centovini.
Her pastry chef experience gives her a unique perspective when it comes to the working kitchen. “Pastry chefs believe that everything is possible,” she says. “Being a pastry chef teaches you how to multitask and have a lot of irons in the fire at one time.”