Cascina

In the vineyards of Italy, the cascina is where the family and friends gather for meals, lingering over bottles of wine and plates brimming with the bounty of the season. Now, Cascina, an Italian country kitchen, brings the essence of that bucolic life to the center of Hell's Kitchen. Owner and Architect Emilio Barletta (Trattoria Dopo Teatro, Zanzibar, Osteria Fiorentina) has partnered with Mikele DeNegri and enlisted executive chef Cristiano Pera to fulfill the culinary vision.

Executive Chef Cristiano Pera
Cristiano Pera has cooked his way around the world since the age of 14. From northern Italy, Pera, was born into a world where his parents owned a restaurant/bar, and his aunt and cousins were chefs. After cooking in Italy, then Switzerland, he found his way to San Tropez, France, where he worked at Alain Ducasse's Residence de la Pineda. He went on to cook at Bice in London, Paris and Istanbul, with stops along the way in Milan. Pera arrived in New York in 1997 and worked as chef for a stint at Salute, before becoming executive chef at Artusi for 3 and a half years.

"I like to work with simple, healthy Italian tastes while going beyond the standard vinegar and oil flavorings into more exotic flavors like ginger and lemongrass," says Pera about his cooking philosophy. "Every kind of product is here in New York. I think of my cooking as Italian with a touch of New York style."