It’s the stuff of romantic fantasies. A young couple hires Executive Chef Jeff Santangelo of Baldoria to prepare an intimate dinner for just the two of them, and gives him complete creative freedom on the menu. After arriving early to set up in the couple’s kitchen, Santangelo gets to work preparing an unforgettable meal. To begin, he creates a duo of inspired appetizers: the first, a purple potato gratin topped with seared scallops, caviar and a roasted garlic emulsion; the second, a miniature Granny Smith apple tart topped with seared foie gras and drizzled with honey-champagne syrup. The diners gasp with delight when he sets the plates before them.

   Next, Santangelo serves lamb tenderloins topped with a dried fruit Port reduction sauce, with gorgonzola cheese polenta and a balsamic glazed Italian Cippoline onion on the side. Rapturous sounds can be heard coming from the dining room. Finally, coffee is poured and accompanied by slices of sinfully rich chocolate tart. Santangelo quietly slips out, leaving the entranced, happily content couple to linger over candlelight.

   Santangelo is the owner of Baldoria, an Italian word that means “merry making, to celebrate,” a fitting moniker for a company that specializes in catering parties, weddings, family gatherings and intimate meals. “I grew up in a large Italian family,” Santangelo explains. “My mother’s family is from Calabria, in central Italy, and my father’s side is from Potenza in southern Italy. My mother and grandmothers were always in the kitchen preparing soups and pastas from scratch, and making traditional Italian dishes like manicotti. My grandpa owned a produce market, Santangelo Fruits and Vegetables, in Denver’s Denardo Market for over 30 years, so food and cooking have always been in my blood.”

   Jeff Santangelo received his degree in finance at the University of Colorado and worked in the mortgage banking industry for the next decade. He quietly saved his money while his mind percolated with bigger plans. Four years ago, he retired from banking and enrolled at a culinary school, Denver’s own Cook Street School of Fine Cooking. Santangelo studied in the school’s accelerated three-month program, which has a primary emphasis on French and Italian cooking techniques.

   “Jeff is one of our most successful graduates,” says Cook Street School’s president Morey Hecox. “He’s somewhat typical of the people that come to this school, in that he had another career first and was successful at something else. He learned good cooking skills here, and combined that with his good business sense, plus some common sense and capital. Jeff is a model of what someone who wants to make a career change can accomplish, and in fact, he’s hired several of our graduates to work at Baldoria.”

   After graduation, Santangelo spent several months eating and drinking his way through Europe. “I started in southern Italy and worked my way up the coast and then traveled through southern France,” he says. While in Tuscany, he met New York cookbook author Sandra Lotti and attended her hands-on culinary school, Toscana Saporita. Housed in an agriturismo, a working farm that hosts travelers, the school overlooks a spectacular vista of olive trees and grapevines. At the end of the course, Santangelo impulsively volunteered to prepare his dried fruit stuffed pork loin for the graduation meal, enlisting the help of several other chef-students. That evening, the students gathered around the school’s huge dining room table as Santangelo’s creation was served amid much praise.

   Back in the states, Santangelo launched his business, a personal chef service. His savvy marketing skills and customer referrals contributed to rapid growth of the company, propelling him to move to a commercial kitchen. The business expanded to offer catering, although Santangelo was determined to keep the functions he catered as personal as the meals he’d prepared, with an abundant emphasis on service.

   The company often caters smaller parties, and Allison Evans, Baldoria’s Director of Catering and Events, says, “We like to provide a more specialized catering service, introducing our clients to good food and presentations that appeal not only their tastes, but also to their sense of style.”

   Jeff Santangelo’s culinary style reflects updated dishes from his own Italian heritage as well as Mediterranean influences from his travels. Although Baldoria is best known for its catering expertise, Santangelo says a third of his business is still providing personal chef services. Baldoria’s chefs have prepared complete Thanksgiving dinners, staged birthday parties, and orchestrated outdoor cookouts. One family hires Santangelo to cook a large, family-style dinner every Wednesday night. The family invites friends and other family members over and enjoys the opportunity entertain mid-week without the worries and work of food preparation.

   When he’s not busy running Baldoria, the 36-year-old bachelor cooks simply at home. “I’ll pan sear a fish or some lamb tenderloins and make a quick pan sauce,” he says.

   When he dines in Denver, he likes Mel’s Bar & Grill, The Keg and Sullivan’s. “Denver’s dining scene is definitely getting better,” he says. Which begs the question: does he have any plans to open a restaurant of his own? “Eventually I would like to open a nice Italian restaurant, serving rustic dishes that are a little more upscale.”

  Allison Evans, who considers Santangelo’s traditional Italian Braciole – a rolled steak filled with a savory stuffing -- her favorite dish and a major job benefit, says, “Jeff’s creative skills as a chef are amazing. He pays a great deal of attention to detail, and everything we do has his personal touch on it. He is laid back, but he works very hard and inspires the rest of us to do our best. Jeff is a wonderful person to have as a boss.” It’s fitting praise for a chef who prides himself on making his customers rapturously content.

Baldoria

10101 E. Hampden Ave.

Denver, CO 80231

303-755-3640

Baldoria’s Warm Salad of Lamb Tenderloin, Grilled Summer Fruits and Mesclun with Fruity Sherry Vinaigrette

Pairing fruit with meat is a trademark of Jeff Santangelo’s cooking style. This summer salad combines tender salad greens with fruit that is cooked briefly on the grill and medium-rare slices of lamb tenderloin. The salad is drizzled with a homemade fruit and sherry vinaigrette that complements and enlivens the contrasting flavors.

1 pound mesclun greens (a green salad mixture of very young leaves and shoots of wild and cultivated lettuces)

1 pound assorted summer fruits cut in large segments; try mango, figs, melons, peaches, apricots, nectarines, star fruit, pineapple

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon honey

splash of Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, minced

1 tablespoon fresh mint, minced

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

½ tablespoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

½ teaspoon sea salt

4 lamb tenderloins

For the vinaigrette:

macerated fruit reduction (see recipe)

1 ½ ounces sherry vinegar

5 ounces good quality olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh blueberries

1 ½ teaspoons fresh mint, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced

the zest of 1 orange

the juice of ½ orange

2 green onions, white and yellow parts, minced

1 teaspoon shallot, peeled and minced

sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

To prepare the fruit, combine the fruit segments, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon, honey, and Grand Marnier in a large bowl. Let the mixture sit, stirring occasionally (this process is called “macerating”) for at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.  Remove fruit from the bowl and reserve the juices.  In a small sauce pan, cook the juices over medium-high heat until reduced by one-half; cool and chill in the refrigerator. Preheat the grill on high heat. Grill the fruit segments on the preheated, seasoned grill.  Fruit should be grilled until dark brown “tracks” appear, about 5 minutes.

To prepare the lamb, combine the rosemary, thyme, mint, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a dinner plate.  Roll the lamb in the herb mixture to lightly coat all sides.  In a seasoned sauté pan, sear the lamb stovetop on high heat, on all sides until brown, about 3 minutes a side for medium-rare.  Remove from heat, cover with foil and let rest.

In a small bowl add all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette and use a hand-blender to emulsify.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.

To serve, divide the mesclun greens into four portions in the center of four dinner plates. Arrange the assorted fruit segments on top. Slice each lamb tenderloin on the bias into 5 pieces, and then fan the slices on each plate. Drizzle the entire plate with the vinaigrette. If desired, you may garnish the plate with edible flowers, goat cheese medallions or candied nuts. 4 servings.