Laurent Tourondel, chef and the founder of LT Hospitality, has a career that’s spanned four decades with concepts that include a range of cuisines in New York City, the Hamptons, South Florida and another coming to Philadelphia soon, too.
He’s cooked around the globe and has earned a Michelin star, alongside two and three-star reviews from The New York Times. And now, he’s celebrating another achievement: The decade anniversary of his Chelsea restaurant L’Amico, which serves as his expression of love for Italian fare.
Tourondel opened up about the first 10 years of L’Amico, what he’s learned with this venture, his top menu recommendation and more in a Q&A session with Appetito.
Editor’s note: This Q&A has been lightly edited.
What does being open for a decade mean to you?
It means a lot in New York City, actually. There is so much going on around you, so much new stuff opening, but I’m glad the restaurant is here and it’s functioning in the best way. And that’s all because of the effort we put into it to bring something exciting and new.
What have the first 10 years of L'Amico brought?
On a personal leveI, L’Amico has brought me something new to learn and also develop something very different because of the wood-fire cooking and the pasta and pizza. I wanted to be good at it. I went to Italy and traveled a lot across the U.S. to see what people were doing to learn everything. It was a good challenge.
What are the biggest challenges you've faced leading L'Amico through the last decade?
The challenge was to bring a restaurant to a good level, up to speed. The pandemic was a challenge for sure. We had to build another space for people to eat in because they didn’t want to be inside so we built this area outside which is still there today.
Tell me your favorite L'Amico memory from the last decade:
I have a wonderful memory of when we started roasting suckling pigs in year one at L’Amico. That was a great moment.
How has the restaurant changed since its 2015 opening?
The restaurant hasn’t changed, but the menu changed, some of the steps of service changed and the beverage program changed. A lot of changes but it’s mostly operational.
What do you hope for in the coming years for L'Amico?
I hope to continue what we do and make the restaurant evolve even more during the coming years. We’ll renew ourselves culinarily every season.
What item on the menu do you most recommend?
Mushroom pizza, for sure.
What do you hope people think of when they think of L'Amico?
I hope they think they can get affordable, great food.
