Meet the Chef: Graziano Tecchio of Graziano’s Downtown Café

Graziano is the owner and chef of Downtown Café, a beloved fixture in Kingston, New York’s historic waterfront district. He hails from Venice, Italy, where old-school, farm-to-table practices are a long-standing family tradition. From an early age, he learned how to fish, butcher, garden, and prepare food entirely from scratch—skills that continue to define his cooking today. That tradition lives on at the Downtown Café, where Graziano serves exquisite, authentic Northern Italian cuisine in a warm, inviting atmosphere that feels like stepping into a grandmother’s kitchen.

Tecchio started his culinary journey as a child in a small village north of Venice. By age 14, he was living on his own and working at a famous restaurant in Venice, serving sophisticated locals and notable visitors like Madonna and Keith Richards.  

For the always amiable Graziano, simplicity is key – dishes with a few high-quality, locally sourced or imported ingredients, prepared with patience and, above all, passion. Menu staples like his slow-braised Guanciale, Venetian Polpette meatballs, and Chocolate Truffle Tort are legendary among both local diners and critics at outlets such as the New York Times.

Read on to hear more about his fascinating life journey and one of the true jewels in the Hudson Valley restaurant scene.

INSIDE+OUT: As part of a food-centric Venetian family, you began cooking at a very young age and also gained knowledge of gardening, butchering, fishing, and cheesemaking. When did you start your food journey?

Chef Graziano Tecchio: I grew up in a small village of about 1,000 people, roughly 50 miles north of Venice. I like to say we kind of grew up in the Middle Ages. My family raised animals, grew vegetables, fished, and even learned how to sew and knit at a very young age, so we all learned the skills needed to be self-sufficient. 

So, when did cooking enter the picture?

Graziano Tecchio: Everybody in my family was a great cook, but my father’s mother was not only an excellent cook but also a great teacher. Even before I could stand, I would help in the kitchen—making fugazza (a large peasant bread), cookies, gnocchi, and everything that was part of our big Sunday family dinners, including the recipe for our bolognese sauce, which I still prepare today at Downtown Cafe. When it was time to butcher the animals—pigs, quail, goats, lambs, and steers—I helped with that too, along with gardening and fishing.

 My family ran restaurants, ice cream shops, and a hotel, and I started working in them when I was around six or seven years old, right after school, since we didn’t have a TV (laughs)! I did a little bit of everything. I remember one night in 1976, when there was a big earthquake, and people flocked to our hotel to escape the destruction in Venice and other parts of Italy. I was 10 then, and my family made me the one to get up at 3 am and check in the guests.

How old were you when you started cooking professionally?

Graziano Tecchio: When I finished high school at 14, I moved to Venice and started working at a well-known restaurant called Antico Pignolo. I wanted to be in the big city and live on my own, and working there was my way out. It was really old-fashioned training. You had to apprentice for four or five years before they would let you cook a risotto!

You label your style “Old World Cooking.” What does that mean to you?

Graziano Tecchio: The idea is to make very simple, uncomplicated dishes. You have to use just a few good local ingredients and work with the best of what you can get on the day you cook. We stick to things like fresh homemade pastas and risottos. The most important thing is that they deserve to be cooked well, and you have to have the patience to craft it that way. You can’t do it in a minute. It may be a few ingredients, but it can take hours to make it perfect. 

Tell us about when you came to the U.S. and your experiences running a series of restaurants in the Hudson Valley.

Graziano Tecchio: I arrived in Kingston a few days before Halloween in 1987. I followed my father, who had traveled the world, spoken seven languages, and moved here in the late ‘70s. I started cooking at his restaurant, Mary Ps on Broadway, the morning after I arrived. We had that restaurant from 1985 to 2002, along with Mount Casino on Route 209, which opened in 1988. The first Downtown Café opened in 2010 next to Mary Ps, and I operated from 2011 to 2016. I moved Downtown Café to its current location in the Roundout in June 2017.

At present, Downtown Café is unusual because it’s really a one-man operation, with you doing all the prep and cooking. Isn’t this too much to do?

Graziano Tecchio: You have to love what you do, or you’ll be out of the game. For me, it’s about my passion, my love for what I put on the plate, and the joy people get from it. I’ve had kitchens with 20 people, but right now I prefer this – me doing the cooking and my waitress, Cassie, doing the serving. I’m almost 60 and don’t have the patience to tell people what to do anymore! 

When I started cooking in Venice as a child, I was committed, and I was lucky to know that this was what I wanted to do with my life. It’s a bit like Dante’s Divine Comedy. Sometimes it’s a journey from hell to purgatory to heaven; there’s bad and good, some pain, but mostly it’s joy.

Tell us about your sisters, who are also involved in local businesses here in Kingston.

Graziano Tecchio: As I mentioned, I moved here in 1987, and they followed two years later. These are my two younger sisters, who attended school locally, while my two older sisters stayed in Italy and studied at the Venice Academy of Art. Now, they work in art restoration. My sister Alessandra owns a fantastic breakfast-and-lunch spot just down the block from my restaurant, Dolce. My sister, Ileana, is a homeopath and acupuncturist running New Leaf Clinic. My daughters, Isabella and Sofia, helped out in the business when they were young. Those tiny hands were perfect for making skewers, and they were also the ones who introduced me to YouTube and social media.

What are some of your signature dishes, the ones loved most by patrons?

Graziano Tecchio: I offer both weekly and daily specials, and sometimes they become staples because customers love them.

My Guanciale is a real favorite. It’s pork cheek, which is often cured like bacon in Italy, but I braise it with some secret spices for five or six hours, depending on the size. Our meatballs are also very popular, and we offer several varieties. Our beef or three-meat (pork, veal, beef) versions are large and round, 12–14 ounces each, cooked in a sauce. We also make Venetian Polpette, which are smaller, flat, fried balls made with meat or pork, served with potato puree. The Pescatore Pasta is also very popular—homemade linguine with shrimp, scallops, calamari, clams, and a lightly spiced Fra Diavolo sauce.

Being Venetian, my Risotto is especially popular. We make it with mushrooms, saffron, cuttlefish, and a black ink version. Our Scallops with Angel Hair Pasta and Saffron used to be a special dish because of the cost, but now it’s a staple. When we get fresh ingredients, we also do Grilled Sardines, which are marinated for a day or two before cooking, along with other fish like Branzino. Our Carbonara with smoked pancetta, cream, and imported Parmigiano is also very popular. We also offer gluten-free pasta and some excellent vegan dishes.

But it always comes down to the ingredients. I use local suppliers like Alma Farms and Tilson for vegetables and Veritas for some meats. If they mention they have something special, I will create a dish with it and add it to the menu. I also like to complement the local farm-to-table approach with quality imported products, such as our olive oils, durum wheat for pasta, and some cheeses.

And your desserts? Those have made quite a few headlines…

Graziano Tecchio: Our Chocolate Truffle was featured in a “Best Desserts” article in the New York Times in 2002 and remains a popular item. I’ve been making Tiramisu for nearly 40 years using my family’s traditional recipe. Our Apple Strudel, Lemon Tart, and Pecan Pie are also favorites. We also make cannoli, the Sicilian version, which is flakier and less sweet than what you typically find here in the U.S.

What makes a good customer?

Graziano Tecchio: People who aren’t afraid to try new things and enjoy the company of other diners and the staff. This restaurant has an open environment, like a chef’s table. There’s no wall between me and the diners, and they can see me work and, if it’s not too busy, chat with me while I prepare their meals. There’s no division between cooking and dining – it’s just one big ecosystem for me.

As for the customers, everyone is equally important. When I was a young man working in Venice, I cooked for the great classical guitarist Andrés Segovia, actor Roger Moore, Keith Richards, and even Madonna, who was there filming her “Like A Virgin” video. But I’ll treat the next person who walks through the door the same.

How has the Hudson Valley food scene changed since you arrived in the ‘80s?

Graziano Tecchio: Food is like music or art to me; it’s a fluid art form that’s constantly evolving. The food scene here in the Hudson Valley is very different from what it was 40 years ago. It’s improving and becoming more diverse, in terms of both chefs and diners. For me, it’s wabi-sabi—that’s the Japanese term for “finding beauty in imperfection.” I believe it’s the struggle that makes life truly amazing.

When can people come to dine at Downtown Café?

Graziano Tecchio: We’re open from 5 to 9 pm, Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from 1 to 8 pm on Sundays. We have 35 seats, including 25 on the heated patio in the back. It’s a good idea to call and make a reservation a week or two in advance, but sometimes people can just come and find a table. As for my hours, it depends on what I’m cooking! If Guanciale or Oxtail is on the menu, I’ll be here five or six hours before opening.

The sparkle when you present something to a diner lasts only a moment. The preparation to be a great cook, a food magician or wizard, well, that takes a lifetime. 

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Photos courtesy of Graziano Tecchio, Cassie Lattin

If this has stirred your appetite, there’s plenty more to discover.   EXPLORE THE DIRECTORY   for even more delicious restaurants, markets, farms, and culinary finds that make the Hudson Valley such an extraordinary place to eat—whether you’re living here, visiting for the weekend, or simply hungry for what’s next.