In the Kitchen with Chef Fernando Campoverde of Fiamma Restaurant

We sat down with Fernando Campoverde of beloved Italian restaurant, Fiamma. Originally from Ecuador, yes you heard that right, Campoverde learned Italian cuisine in his hometown and brought his passion for cooking to Charlotte over a decade ago. His wife convinced him that Charlotte was a wonderful place to raise a family and 13 years later, he agrees she was right.

Dishing: How did you get started in the restaurant business?

Campoverde: This is my dream to open a place, to do what I have learned all my life – 37 years of cooking. I had originally opened up a place in New York with my brothers; we had an Italian restaurant in New York called Porchetta but my wife loved Charlotte and she wanted to come here for my boys. I have been in Charlotte for 13 years now and I love it — I plan to stay here. I think Charlotte is ready for the food that I prepare. We prepare block pasta, pasta with saffrons … we were the first restaurant to bring Mediterranean fish to Charlotte. We brought Dover Sole from the England coast. All of the meat and fish and cheeses we bring from Italy and at the moment nobody else brings it. Helen Schwab from the Charlotte Observer gave us five stars, which helped a lot.

That’s great to hear that your wife loved Charlotte. How did she find out about Charlotte?

One of our friends moved to Charlotte for her job. We originally planned on moving to Orlando, but our friend recommended we check out Charlotte. My wife also wanted to be near her friend that moved. I didn’t know much about Charlotte, but I ended up visiting about six or seven times to find a spot to open a restaurant. We ended up finding this space in Dilworth and were told that it is a beautiful, great spot. They said it is in a great neighborhood with good parking and it is close to Uptown Charlotte. It has ended up being the perfect spot to open up this restaurant.

Where did you learn to cook?

I am originally from Ecuador. First, my country has an Italian college. Then, I immigrated to New York and I learned from the big chefs at the time coming from Italy – so they taught me a lot. Also, I traveled to Italy to see what the food is like in various places like Tuscany and Rome and Venice. So I have been cooking for like 30 or 40 years – I was cooking in New York for about 20 years and I have been cooking in Charlotte for 13 years. I have been in the restaurant for about four decades.

Can you talk a little bit more about how the Charlotte Observer wrote about the restaurant when it first opened up.

Yes, The Charlotte Observer thankfully gave us five star reviews early on. We do everything from scratch. We do bread, desserts, pastas, etc. Everything we make here. We bring some things from New York or Italy like authentic Italian flours. The main products we bring from there or we make here.

Let’s talk about Restaurant Week? Is there a noticeable change in restaurant operations during the period or is it still business as usual?

It’s crazy. One part of it is good because it gives you the opportunity to bring new people in, but sometimes since it is busy people have a bad experience. It goes both ways. But we do a lot more business during Restaurant Week.

What is your favorite menu item right now?

I am simple, I love our pasta. We make an authentic Bolognese pasta for wintertime, but for summertime we make Fiocchetti — in the inside we put cheese, fresh pears and black summer truffles, it is so simple and it has a little cheese on top. It can be an appetizer or a main course. I love it. We also have the Dover Sole and Branzino that I both love. Our Chilean Sea Bass is also very popular, we sear it and serve it with fresh spaghetti squash and fried baby artichokes.

So it sounds like you prefer to keep things simple, fresh and authentic. Would you say that is accurate?

Yes, because Italian cuisine is all about simple and fresh ingredients. The most important thing to us is sourcing fresh ingredients, day to day. We make our pastas and sauces daily and we get our meats daily as well. We have all the pastas, all the salads, all types of meats (pork chops, veal, lamb, etc.). You can find everything on the menu. There is something for everybody.

Tell me a little bit more about your family and your brothers you mentioned earlier.

My brothers are in New York and they had a delicious Spanish restaurant there. I have three children, all in their twenties, and they help out at the restaurant. They help serve food when they are not at university. My employees are already like my family so it’s like one big family.

What are your busiest days of the week?

Usually Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Sometimes Sundays too. We are busier at night than during the day.

Will you hand over the business to your children eventually?

Yes, I’ll try to. They go to university for business and marketing, so they have some interest in taking it over.

How do you go about your wine selection?

We have somebody that helps us switch out our wines twice a year. We have great wines, from house wines to top wines.