Alberto Sabbadini. As a young boy, Alberto's favorite time of year was winter. During these coldest of days, his parents allowed him to skip school to help their friends and neighbors in Magnano in Riviera—a village in view of the hills that hide the border between Italy and Slovenia—slaughter the pig. The entire day was spent cutting, grinding, casing, trussing. The salumi were left to dry in the cantina. Alberto's seasonal ritual with his family and friends taught him how traditions surrounding food can bring community closer together.
Determined to make his way into professional kitchens, Alberto attended culinary school in Aviano. His education in food continued across Europe: a couple of years at a mountain resort in the Swiss Alps, a stint at a pasticceria in Sardinia, opening a restaurant in Istanbul. With such broad experience under his belt, Alberto returned closer to home, first to Venice's famed Hotel Monaco, and then a water taxi ride away, to the world-renowned Locanda Cipriani. The inn is situated on the island of Torcello, where its chefs can pick and choose from its extensive vegetable garden and the abundant seafood from the Venetian lagoon.
After three years in Torcello, Alberto once again took to the road—this time across the Atlantic and all the way to Colorado. Aspen was his destination, and he spent several years as chef de cuisine at L'Hostaria. From Aspen, Alberto found Boulder. After seven years at the Boulder Country Club, Alberto joined The Kitchen, where he was executive chef at the Café, Upstairs, and Next Door. Being in Boulder, with its community of farms and ranches, rekindled in Alberto his love of cooking the way he knows best: with seasonal, local ingredients. He's forged strong bonds with several local farms and together with his daughters, he's once again planted his own garden. Although an ocean and half a continent separate Alberto from Friuli, the rituals he brought with him keep him close to home.
