Chef Mark diCicco of Lucia's Tavola Is Top Chef

Chef Mark diCicco  of Lucia's Tavola recently was awarded Top Chef and Winner of St Joseph's Hospital’s Healthy Chef Competition.
The “Healthy Chef Competition” is a yearly event sponsored by St Joe's Hospital and St Joe's Farmer's Market to promote healthy locally produced foods.

This year’s competitors: Lucia's Tavola of Brookline NH and Florence's Italian Ristorante of Merrimack NH battled it out using the secret ingredient "tomatoes". Both teams offered their own succulent variations of the secret ingredient and prepared beautiful dishes, but in the end the panel of judges announced Lucia’s Tavola as winner.

Chef Mark diCicco and his team offered a Pollo Murattore (stone worker chicken) and a “gluten free" quinoa pasta with a spicy tomato "sciue sciue" sauce. Chef diCicco incorporated a technique using two sauté pans and a large granite rock to press the chicken into the pan. “This preparation” explained the chef “keeps the skin super crispy and presses out excess oils, leaving a moist center”.

Chef diCicco was quick to point out the heathly aspects of his dish which was gluten free and used locally sourced chicken and tomatoes. Chef diCicco also noted, the large granite rock was “locally sourced”. The granite was a hit with the audience and the Pollo Murattore was a hit with the judges.
Congratulations Chef Markoh!