CHEF PROFILE: ARRIGO CIPRIANI by Alice Carlon

Creativity and a keen business sense have helped this former bartender to world fame! Arrigo Cipriani, "Harry" to Americans, created a modern legend, an empire stretching from NYC to Buenos Aires and around the globe. The most famous cocktail bar in Venice, Harry's Bar has hosted some of the biggest names on the international scene for decades. It's a well-known fact that Ernest Hemingway wrote pages of some of his finest work seated at Harry's walnut tables, working on Across the River and Into the Trees. From the first Harry's Bar 1931, seven more have been opened around the world, three in New York. It's also a well-known fact that Arrigo Cipriani invented the Bellini cocktail, an apéritif beloved worldwide for its simplicity and the perfect union of its ingredients: prosecco, peach juice and raspberry syrup. It is perhaps less widely know that he is also responsible for the creation of a number of celebrated dishes as well. Did you know who started serving Carpaccio? The individual chicken pie, the Tartine di pollo and Tagliolini gratinati con scampi e zucchine? Harry's Bar The origin of Harry's Bar in Venice has become the stuff of legends. It is said that way back in 1929, Giuseppe Cipriani (Arrigo's father) worked as a bartender in the Hotel Europa on the Canal Grande. One of his loyal customers was Harry Pickering, a wealthy young American so free with his money that by the end of his trip, he didn't even have the money to get home. Old Giuseppe, a generous fellow himself, loaned the young man what was then the equivalent of $ 6.000 (a princely sum!) to pay his hotel bill and the voyage back to the U.S. Two years later, Mr Pickering returned to Venice and, in acknowledgment of the trust and generous kindness demonstrated by the bartender, financed Giuseppe's dream of a bar of his own -- Harry's Bar! The Locanda Cipriani on Torcello click to enlarge In this still relatively untouched area in the middle of Venice's lagoon, Ernest Hemingway sought solitude and hunted in the woods. Charlie Chaplin vacationed with his family here and the British Royal Family often spent the spring here. The list of illustrious and celebrated personages who have frequented the Locanda Cipriani on the Isola di Torcello is endless. In more recent years, it has become a favorite retreat for privileged actors and directors at the participating in the Venice film festival. Avoiding the large and elaborately ornate grand hotels on the Canal Grande, many people, including Steven Spielberg, prefer the peace and charm of the most beautiful island in the lagoon. The hotel includes salons large enough to accommodate gala events such as the debut screening of "Eyes Wide Shut" which counted Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and the directing staff of Warner Pictures among the 300 guests. So, the glow goes on...

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