Shingara “Peppino” Singh
Da Vinci Ristorante
162 Columbus Avenue, Boston
Recognized by restaurateur extraordinaire James Beard as a “notable” restaurant in Boston, Da Vinci Ristorante offers a warm and welcoming décor and amazing artistically-inspired food to Back Bay. Paying tribute to its titular Renaissance man with art and even drinks that reflect his genius, Da Vinci also reveals the culinary command of Executive Chef Shingara Singh, who brings a bit of his native India to the Italian eatery. As Chef Singh is known to be one to come out of the kitchen to visit his happy patrons, we figured you should know a little bit about him.
Matt’s Meals How did you get into cooking?
Shingara Singh: I lived and worked with an Italian family in Germany between 1985 and 1992. During this time I had the pleasure of learning how to cook and speak Italian from my mentor, Aldo Ferraro of Leonardo Da Vinci Restaurant. This experience helped me realize how much I loved cooking and I decided that when I opened my own restaurant, I would call it “Da Vinci”.
MM: Where was your first professional kitchen experience?
SS: My first kitchen experience that I acquired was in Germany at Leonardo Da Vinci Restaurant. I consequently moved to the United States to work at the House of Blues in Cambridge from 1992 until 1997 and became the head Chef at La Campania in Waltham from 1997 until 2007. This is when I met my future business partner, Wioletta Zywina.
MM: What is your favorite dish to prepare?
SS: I love to work with fresh seasonal dishes that offer something new to our guests. Currently I am using blood orange pears for our desserts and blood oranges that add amazing flavors to some of our salads. I recently also started experimenting with Indian and Italian infusion dishes which have received a great response from our guests.
MM: What is the best part of your job?
SS: I love to create and take a lot of pride in surprising people with my creations. For this reason people will find a lot of new and original Italian dishes along with the classics on our menu.
MM: Who is your favorite chef in Boston?
SS: Pedro from Casa de Pedro in Waltham and Billerica.
MM: What do you usually make for yourself at home?
SS: My wife cooks on my days off. I love to cook but it’s nice to have someone else make a delicious meal once in a while.
MM: If you could dine with any three people, who would they be?
SS: Bobby Flay, Tom Brady and Angelina Jolie.