Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Entering a dark period in his life, acclaimed restaurateur Bruno Abate battled his way back into the light by founding a groundbreaking program at Cook County Jail.
After his mother taught him to deeply appreciate fresh, high-quality food, Italian native Bruno Abate became a successful Chicago-area restaurateur with a mission to help others.
In 2010, Abate founded Recipe for Change, a nonprofit that provides culinary instruction, job skills training, fine arts enrichment and mentorship to detainees at Cook County Jail. Over the last 16 years, about 6,000 people have participated in the nonprofit’s programs.
A resident of Winnetka in suburban Chicago, Abate talks to Fra Noi about his entrepreneurship, moving to Chicago in 1999, starting the nonprofit during a very dark period in his life, and meeting Pope Francis in 2024.
ELENA FERRARIN: Tell us about your passion for food and gastronomy.
BRUNO ABATE: I was born in Naples and raised in Milan. My mom was an amazing chef; she was insanely creative in the way she cooked all types of food, and she let me taste all kinds of different things. When I was older, I worked for eight months in the kitchen with Chef Gualtiero Marchesi, where I learned all the techniques. My passion brought me to explore food and understand Italian ingredients. When I was 26, I opened a company where I provided the best products — prosciutto, caviar, bottarga, parmigiano… all the beautiful things we have in Italy — to food retail stores and hotels. Then I opened a fish company, also providing the best fish.
EF: What led you to move to Chicago?
BA: I was 45 years old. I sold my company in Italy, and I was figuring out what I wanted to do. My brother was here. When I came, I wasn’t going to stay, but then there were some family problems, so I stayed. I met a woman and I got married. My first wife in Italy died of cancer when she was young. I have a daughter and a beautiful grandson in Italy. My second wife and I divorced, but we are still very good friends. And her son, Adriano, I consider my son because he was 5 when I met him.
EF: You own two Italian restaurants, Tocco in Winnetka and Follia in Lake Forest, and you used to own two restaurants in Chicago as well. Is there a common thread among them?
BA: I import everything from Italy. San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil from Calabria and Puglia, balsamic vinegar from Modena, dry pasta from Avellino — everything is imported because I want the best quality. We also import flour from Italy, and we make things in house, like fresh pasta and pinsa (Roman flatbread), and we bake bread every day. My food is very Italian, very authentic. I have an “abbattitore” fridge (which uses the “blast chilling” method to cool food quickly). That’s how sauces stay light and flavorful instead of becoming acidic and heavy on the stomach. We use it for fish, too, so it retains a fresh taste.
EF: Do you like to cook?
BA: I like to cook on my day off, or when I have guests. I do about 20 dinners all over the country. I think I am the only chef in the world who uses silver pans, made completely of silver. Each pan is $2,000 to $4,000. I was inspired by another chef from Milan who had two silver pans.
EF: Does silver make a difference?
BA: Yes, it has natural antibacterial properties and eliminates all the acidity. The flavor is completely different.
EF: How did you start Recipe for Change?
BA: This was a call from God. I started teaching in the juvenile prison in St. Charles. I wrote down, “How can I change the prison system in America?” and I created this beautiful program in Cook County. We work with detainees who are waiting for trial; some of them have been with us for three, five years. I started it in 2010, and it became a nonprofit in 2014.
EF: What does the nonprofit consist of?
BA: We provide culinary instruction, job skills training, fine arts enrichment and mentorship. We have two kitchens, 4,000-square-foot each, and an art studio and a music studio, all inside the jail. We launched a food truck in February so people who come out of the program can have a job for three or four months to make money and start a new life. It will be outside the jail at first, then it will travel in summer. I raised $250,000 to start the food truck, and I am also raising $1 million to add a new bakery for the program. In total I raised $12 million. We have a dedicated team and a board of directors, too.
EF: Where does the funding come from?
BA: We have a lot of friends and supporters like the Rockefeller family and the Crown family. We also got a MacArthur Foundation grant, and there are a lot of people who donate every year.
EF: In order to do all this, you must have worked with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
BA: Yes, without him all this would not happen. When we talked the first time and I told him what I had in my heart and what I wanted to do, he said, “Do it.”
EF: Are you involved with the day-to-day operations of the nonprofit?
BA: Yes, I go there a few times a week. And my son has also been there for 10 years, he is the program manager.
EF: How has Recipe for Change affected you personally?
BA: In 2010, I was in a very dark place. Business was very bad because of the economy; I had family problems. It was a very tough moment. So, when God gave me this opportunity, I didn’t hesitate. I really understood it was a call from God. From there, day by day, my life changed for better and better. This program gave me the compassion that I have for everyone, to forgive everyone. I am very at peace with myself; I am very serene. Two years ago, I got the pleasure that Pope Francis wanted to meet me. I went to Rome and spent 45 minutes with the Pope and Cardinal Cupich. I still can’t get over it, it was such an unbelievable experience.
EF: What are your goals for the future?
BA: I am opening a beautiful gastronomia store in Lake Forest, a very Italian retail store with the best products, and I am also opening a beautiful piano bar. My goal is not money. I employ almost 90 people, and I want to provide for them. I come from a very humble working family. I started working at 14 and I am now 71. God gave me the blessing to make some money, and my goal for the future is to help more people. More and more.
The above article appears in the March 2026 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture.
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