AUGUST 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 79
JOE GANNASCOLI
SOPRANO TURNED CHEF
BY ALAN KRAWITZ
Long before his popular role in HBO's
The Sopranos series, LI resident Joe
Gannascoli was making his bones
offscreen and in the kitchen as an accomplished
chef.
Gannascoli, 62, a self-taught chef who
hails from what he calls a big, "food-oriented"
family in Brooklyn, is now using
his kitchen chops as much as his acting
prowess by combining his passions into
private chef Sopranos parties.
"Cooking and acting are my two
passions," says Gannascoli, who estimates
he's now done about 80 Sopranos
-themed private chef parties on Long
Island and in New Jersey and beyond for
the past few years.
The parties, with a minimum of 16
guests, feature an impressive array of
dishes specially prepared by Gannascoli,
from appetizers like antipasto to
pasta and a main dish of either chicken,
fish, or beef. Favorites include his
clam and vodka sauces.
"I pretty much make anything you
want," he says, adding that the parties
really make sense if people are Sopranos
fans. He answers questions about
the show, signs autographs, and poses
for pictures.
But, although the persona of Vito Spatafore,
whom Gannascoli played for 41
episodes of the show from 1999-2006, is
a main attraction, it is not the only one.
"The food is good on its own," he says.
"I do some parties where I have people
shooting lines at me left and right."
Gannascoli recalls teaching himself
to cook before landing gigs at restaurants
in Manhattan including Manhattan
Market before moving to New
Orleans for a stint at Commander's
Palace.
After New Orleans, Gannascoli returned
to New York and worked at
Nightfalls and Restaurant 101 in Bay
Ridge. Around this same time, he auditioned
for off-Broadway plays and
studied drama.
Joe Gannascoli hosts Sopranos-themed dinner parties as a private chef.
Gannascoli returned to the restaurant
business with a successful venue of his
own, Soup as Art in Brooklyn. But by
1990, he had run up nearly $60,000 in
football gambling looses, so he cashed
out of the restaurant and moved to Los
Angeles to pay down debt.
He took odd jobs in Hollywood before
getting his big break: Director Benicio
Del Toro cast Gannascoli in a short
movie lead role around 1992 that led
to his work in The Sopranos.
"I was extremely lucky," Gannascoli
said, adding that he had to "hustle and
make things happen."
He recalled how he would get up early
each morning in LA and get the breakdowns,
which are essentially notes on
what casting directors want in terms
of scenes, actors, and looks.
"I pretended to be a fictitious manager.
I made calls and proceeded to get myself
booked for auditions since my real
agent was young and inexperienced.”
He explains that it was his suggestion
to director David Chase to make Vito's
character gay.
He said this changed his life because
it elevated Vito's role from that of just
a background guy to a recurring role.
Other movie credits include Men in
Black 3, Beer League, and An Act of
War, as well as a 2004 episode of the
Law & Order TV series.
While private chef parties keep him
busy, Gannascoli continues to act. "I
shot a pilot with actress Kate Bosworth
last Thanksgiving. Still waiting for it
to get picked up,” he says.
Last year, during the height of the
pandemic, Gannascoli decided to help
struggling restaurants out.
He raised $35,000 via a GoFundMe
campaign to buy food from restaurants
and make hundreds of food
deliveries to frontline workers on
Long Island and in New York City. He
helped nursing homes, police departments,
firefighters, and even postal
workers. "I did those food deliveries
for about seven weeks."
Last year, Gannascoli appeared on
celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's 24
Hours to Hell and Back with fellow Sopranos
cast member Vincent Pastore.
Despite that appearance, he is not
enamored with celebrity chef cooking
shows.
"You come across some chefs who
are temperamental and act badly…"
He said many TV chefs "overact" for
dramatic effect. "I'm not really a big
fan of that stuff."
His private chef events have kept him
busy, averaging two to three parties
each week, mainly birthday parties
and special occasions.
Marita from Westbury had praise for
Gannascoli's culinary expertise, calling
her husband's surprise birthday
bash an "unforgettable event with
first-rate food."
Gannascoli can be reached about his
Sopranos private chef events via Tri-
State Restaurant Club on Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram. His email
address is: jrg0215@aol.com.
MAIN DISH
"I pretty much make anything you want,"
Chef Joe Gannascoli says.
The chef and actor played the
character of Vito Spatafore on The
Sopranos.
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