Raquel Arroyo is a trained Le Cordon Bleu chef who is now developing new lunch choices for Il Pasticciere Fiorini. Photo by Ryan Lely.
Five years after Grazia Bianchi and baker son-in-law Massimo Fiorini opened Il Pasticciere Fiorini on West Napa Street, they have brought in a Cordon Bleu-trained chef to upgrade the midday meal menu. Raquel Arroyo is developing a different offering for each day of the week (Tuesday through Saturday) that will be added to the existing lunch choices.
Speaking in the charming patois of a woman who was born in Peru, attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and has traveled most of the rest of the world, Raquel Arroyo explained her approach.
“Food is about the heart, and it is culture. We nourish our bodies so our brains can function.
“I create, “ she said, “I don’t invent.”
“She innovates,” explained Michael Wearing, Bianchi’s husband. “That’s what executive chefs do. Raquel’s food is the quintessence of creativity and originality.
“In my brief association with Raquel I have a learned a lot.”
Arroyo’s menu for last week featured several of the pasta-and-salad lunches that will be her trademark offering. One included a salad of greens, red beets and sliced yellow potatoes (small ones, which she says have less water than larger potatoes) in a raspberry vinaigrette, accompanied by a vegetable lasagna that was nearly as light as a soufflé. Each day will feature a different meal; the menu will be posted on the Web site, fiorinisonoma.com. So far, none costs more than $10.
According to Arroyo, all her food is pure and fresh. As she put it so succinctly, “There is nothing in my freezer for tomorrow.”
After cooking and traveling around the world for 35 years, Arroyo retired from the restaurant business some 15 years ago, after running her own places in Pleasanton and Berkeley. She subsequently moved from the East Bay to Sonoma to be near her daughter. After her daughter relocated to southern California, Arroyo had time on her hands and talent to spare.
“So Mom is now cooking again,” said Arroyo. She has been a longtime customer at Grazia, Bianchi’s salon (which recently consolidated from two locations – one on East Napa Street – to a single space behind Fiorini). The two women have become fast friends.
Meanwhile, Fiorini continues to offer its established roster of paninis, quiches, salads and offbeat choices such as a tuna-artichoke sandwich that tastes a lot better than it sounds. Touted as Sonoma’s only “truly Italian bakery,” the café is also known for its extensive selection of breads, cakes, pizzas, calzones, cakes, cookies, brioches and tortes that Massimo Fiorini – who, like Bianchi, is a native of Tuscany – has been making since he started baking in Lucca and later made him famous during his long stint at San Francisco’s acclaimed Victoria Pastry Company in North Beach.
Fiorini’s Truly Italian Bakery & Café, 258 W. Napa St., Sonoma; 707.996.6119;
www.fiorinisonoma.com.
Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Tuesday-Sunday
Luncheon is served from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
