Described by Reporter Gourmet as “the chef who makes the best handmade pasta in America,” Secchi was born in Texas to a Sardinian father and an English mother. He grew up in suburban Dallas, where his parents ran a restaurant, but has dual American-Italian citizenship and each year spent several months with his family in Italy. (His father was the only one of eight brothers to emigrate, the others all remaining in the Bel Paese.) It was on one of these trips to Italy that Secchi first tasted tortellini in brodo, a memorable experience that led to his decision to pursue a career as a chef.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Secchi spent several years learning his craft in some of Northern Italy’s finest restaurants, training with Laura Morandi at Modena’s Hosteria Giusti, and gaining experience of Piedmont’s regional cuisine under Davide Pallude at the Michelin-starred All’Enoteca in the town of Canale. His Italian experience culminated with a period at Massimo Bottura’s revered three-Michelin-star Osteria Francescana back in Modena. No surprise, then, that Secchi chose the cuisine of Emilia Romagna as the basis of his menu when in 2019 he opened his own restaurant, Rezdôra, in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan.
Restaurants
The name Rezdôra comes from local Modena and can be roughly translated as the female ‘head of the household,’ often used to refer to the kind of mother or grandmother who rolls fresh pasta by hand and prepare mouthwatering dishes for the family. This is the world Secchi aspires to conjure up in his Manhattan restaurant, and if the press and accolades are anything to go by, he has succeeded in creating something very special.
Rezdôra received a coveted three-star review from The New York Times in 2019, the year it opened, and was first awarded a Michelin star in the 2021 edition of the Guide. In 2024, it achieved seventh place in 50 Top Italy’s list of the Best Italian Restaurants in the World, also winning a Made in Italy award, and earning a Wine Spectator Best Award of Excellence to boot.
In June 2024, Secchi opened a second restaurant just a minute away from Rezdôra, with 105 seats and two bars split over two levels. Named Massara, the new restaurant specializes in the cuisine of a different Italian region, namely Campania in the southwest of the country.
Recipes and dishes
The chef describes his menu as “60% classic, with top ingredients, and 40% contemporary.” It follows the Italian tradition of appetizer, first course, main course, and dessert. Secchi considers himself first and foremost a pasta-maker, so it is the ‘primi piatti’ that form the core of the menu at Rezdôra. A regional pasta tasting menu is also available for true aficionados, offering five different Emilian dishes.
Among the candidates for the restaurant’s signature dish is one whimsically named ‘Grandma Walking Through the Forest in Emilia,’ which consists of cappelletti verdi (green ‘hat-shaped’ spinach pasta) stuffed with roasted leeks and spring peas on a bed of black mushroom puree. Another favorite is king crab girasole, which features yellow and black sheets of pasta dough (the latter made using squid ink), filled with crab, mascarpone, lemon zest, and herbs and molded into the shape of a sunflower. Other typical offerings include a trio of gnocco fritto, topped with prosciutto, mortadella, and Tuscan finocchiona; and stuffed anolini in a Parmigiano sauce. For dessert, the menu offers sweet but subtle treats such as parmesan cheesecake crowned by citrus gelée, naturally not forgetting the option of fresh gelato.
