PD's Secret Kitchen, a hidden Italian restaurant in Manhattan | The Dish
NEW YORK - Chef Patrick D'Andrea is cooking up something different in his hidden restaurant. It is called PD's Secret Kitchen.
"When I see that they love what they eat, they make the happiest man in the world," he says.
Patrick was born and raised in Florence, Italy. His mom owned a bed and breakfast where he learned to cook.
"We had everything fresh from the backyard," he said. "So my first introduction with food is going to pick out fresh tomato, fresh zucchini."
After culinary school, Patrick moved to New York where he now works as a private chef for celebrities. And through a communal dining company called Eat With, he is serving his traditional Italian specialties in the backyard of an Upper East Side apartment for foodies from across the globe.
"Basically, it's the future of dining," Patrick says. "We have bookings from people from all over the world who don't know each other. They decide to be hosted by me in my humble apartment to try my delicious food."
The delicious food includes his hand-made fresh pasta. The four-course menu is called Basta Pasta.
"You get the opportunity to eat my homemade pasta with the homemade sauce, with my traditional recipe that I get from my mom and grandma," he says. "Without getting on a plane and going to Italy. It's much cheaper."
He makes bigoli pasta, a kind of spaghetti from Venice made with durum flour, with a San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh oregano, and shaved parmesan cheese.
I was lucky enough to get a seat to taste Patrick's cooking. It was some of the best pasta I've ever had and I made some new friends along the way.
"I was a little perplexed the first time I did it, host strange people, they can be together in the same place," Patrick says. "But after a glass of wine and a couple of appetizers, everybody is pretty happy and they start talking to each other. We have a very nice vibe here."