Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vinnie Cimino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Vinnie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
Something we do differently, is put our staff first. when we opened 2 years ago we knew coming out of the pandemic we wanted to take care of people. not just the guests who walked through our front door but all the staff that walks through our back door as well. We know that a restaurant is built around its people and without them it’s just four hollow walls. So when we opened our restaurant a little over two years ago we made it a point to provide some inalienable benefit to our team, by way of healthcare, dental, and vision insurance. In addition we have since added a matching 401k program and additional mental health benefits.
Our thought is that the better we take care of our team, the better opportunity they will have to take care of our guests.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
‘Cleveland Chef to Watch’ and 2024 James Beard Finalist, Vinnie Cimino, has built a
reputation for combining culinary talent and entrepreneurial spirit to drive team goodwill and
industry progression. His restaurant Cordelia embodies “Midwest Nice” hospitality where the
team and guests come first, and the focus is on bringing a bounty of farm fresh ingredients to
the table.
In 2023, Cordelia was voted “Best New Restaurant” by Cleveland Magazine and one of the “Top
22 New Restaurants in The U. S.” by Tasting Table. Vinnie was recently named Plate
Magazine’s “Chef to Watch” and Certified Angus Beef’s “Chef of the Year”.
Growing up in Ohio, cooking was a family affair. Time with his grandpa meant enjoying traditional
comfort foods and bonding over oysters on the half shell. His Midwest influences led him to
develop a deep appreciation for the land, our farmers and what they provide. From there, his
fascination with cooking began.
Before Cordelia, Vinnie was Chef de Cuisine at The Greenhouse Tavern, where his vision
and love of produce and seasonality contributed to the restaurant’s James Beard award.
During this time, Vinnie worked closely with Andrew Watts, General Manager, and they
established the most successful and positive working environment of the restaurant’s era.
Today, that relationship has come full circle and blossomed into a strong partnership at
Cordelia.
As host of Five Star Sensation, Cimino helps curate a roster of 50 chefs and vintners from around
the world, to raise money for UH Seidman Cancer Center’s bi-annual benefit. He will appear on
an upcoming episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” in Spring 2024 and is looking forward to cooking again
at Outstanding in the Field this summer.
Cimino was named “Best Chef of the Year” by Certified Angus Beef and is the co-founder of
Cleveland Family Meal, a non-profit organization committed to providing provisions and prosperity
to industry and hospitality families in times of need.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My partner Andrew Watt and I first met in 2014 working at Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland, we worked together for about a year. We reconnected in 2022 when we were both looking to figure out what was next, Andrew was in the process of looking to open a restaurant and I was looking to do the same. We met over coffee and talked about what change we wanted to bring to our industry and found out very fast that we had similar goals.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being genuine in our hospitality and our goals to celebrate our community
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cordeliacle.com
- Instagram: chefvinniecimino, cordeliacle
- Facebook: vinnie cimino
- Linkedin: vinnie cimino
Image Credits
photo credit: Dylan Palchesko