Cordelia chef Vinnie Cimino, an Akron native, shocked by James Beard semifinalist honor

Growing up in Akron's Ellet neighborhood, Vinnie Cimino enjoyed big family meals and learned to love food and cooking from his grandparents.

He especially enjoyed going on vacation with his maternal grandparents to Alabama, where lots of good cooking happened. He also spent his formative years at his paternal grandparents' restaurant, the former Bellie's Deli that was in Kent from 1991 to 2001.

"I grew up in this big family on both sides and a lot of it was always centered around food and hospitality. And that was kind of always around. It was something, you know, innate," Cimino said.

Now, at 40, Cimino is a James Beard Award semifinalist for best chef in the Great Lakes region, just 18 months after opening the popular Cordelia restaurant in Cleveland with partner Andrew Watts.

Cimino, who lives in Akron's Highland Square, said that it still hasn't sunk in that he's been named a James Beard semifinalist, a prestigious honor in the restaurant industry.

"To be completely frank, I was shocked when I got the phone call that I made the list. Never in a million years did I ever expect or think that I'd be on that list with so many, you know, great chefs and people that I've looked up to for a number of years and I was really taken aback," he said by phone Wednesday.

The list of regional chef semifinalists, announced Jan. 24, will next be narrowed down from 20 to five, with the five finalists announced April 3. Finalists in 22 categories will attend the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony June 10 in Chicago, when the winners will be announced.

Among the 20 chef semifinalists from the Great Lakes region, two are from the Columbus area and three are from Cincinnati. Cimino is the only semifinalist from Northeast Ohio.

The other Ohio semifinalists are Avishar Barua of Joya’s in Worthington, Erik Bentz and Elaine Uykimpang Bentz of Cafe Mochiko in Cincinnati, Jeffery Harris of Nolia Kitchen in Cincinnati, BJ Lieberman of Chapman's Eat Market in Columbus and Jose Salazar of Mita’s in Cincinnati.

How Cimino became a chef

Cimino is a 2001 graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. When he went to college to wrestle at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., he took a deeper dive into food and cooking.

"My time in Charleston definitely helped shape my love of food," Cimino said of the city's up-and-coming food scene back then.

After returning to Akron, his first restaurant job was as a server at the former Grotto in Merriman Valley. He next worked at Russo's in Peninsula for a couple of years, including as a server and in the kitchen.

For Cimino, becoming a chef was all about learning by doing. Early on, he helped Frank Horvath cook at Frank's Place in Akron and next served as a line cook and then sous chef for one season at Fox Meadow Country Club in Medina.

Dissatisfied with cooking at a country club, Cimino decided to move on.

"I need to find a good restaurant to work at if I wanted to continue like learning and growing and figuring out how to be a cook or a chef," he said.

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He next worked for minimum wage at Ken Stewart's Grille in Akron, where he started out making salads and plating desserts, working his way up to sous chef after about three years. His mentor there, who remains a close friend, was chef Adam Boones.

Cimino worked at Ken Stewart's for about six years, including opening a Ken Stewart's location in the Cleveland Flats, where he was executive sous chef and ultimately assistant manager.

With every career step, Cimino wanted to continue learning and working with like-minded individuals. He next became a fourth sous chef under chef Jonathon Sawyer at the famed Greenhouse Tavern on East 4th Street in Cleveland.

"I knew that The Greenhouse was the best restaurant in Cleveland at the time," he said.

Cimino took a $20,000 pay cut for the opportunity, which came when Cimino and his wife's older daughter, Cohen, was just 1.

"I owe everything to my wife for helping me to actualize my dreams because without her endless support, none of these things would ever be possible," he said.

Cimino, who worked for Sawyer from 2014 to 2019, became chef de cuisine after a year at The Greenhouse Tavern and also worked at Sawyer's Trentino and finally as corporate chef for Sawyer's businesses.

He worked with then-general manager Watts at The Greenhouse Tavern, which led to their current partnership at Cordelia on East 4th Street in Cleveland.

This week, Cimino was busy gearing up for a Midwest Kin Friends of James Beard benefit hosted by Cordelia Thursday night. The charity event was planned long before Cimino learned that he was a James Beard Award semifinalist.

The Cordelia chefs invited five other Ohio chefs to cook with them for the event benefiting the James Beard Foundation, which provides scholarships and other opportunities for people who want to get into the hospitality industry.

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Cimino's roots are in Akron

Cimino remains heavily rooted in Akron. He's close friends with Danny Basone, whom he developed the menu for for the former Funny Noodle in downtown Akron in 2021. One of Cimino's favorite Akron restaurants is Basone's Lockview.

Looking back to Akron food from his youth, Cimino remembers always loving the salad with tons of cheese on top at Luigi's and the delicious egg salad sandwich at the old Acme Click cafe in Ellet.

Now, Cimino couldn't be happier living in Highland Square with his wife and three children: daughter Cohen, 10; daughter Harlow, 8; and son Roman, 4.

"We love Akron. We will never leave the Greater Akron region. It's got tremendous schools, tremendous people. We're fortunate that where we are, we have backyard chickens. Akron's always gonna hold a special place in our heart. It's a good community," he said.

Cordelia focuses on story behind farmers' food

The style of Cordelia's menu is "Modern Grandma," or modern Midwest cookery, which Cimino describes as "a celebration of heritage and where we come from." The restaurant was named after Watts' great grandmother.

"We already developed so many working relationships with so many different farmers and local purveyors over the years that we really were just gonna lean into it and show our appreciation for what they do," Cimino said. "Food tastes better when it's local, and we can tell the story behind and we can connect these dots from the soil to the plate,"

Farmers and purveyors listed on Cordelia's menu include Akron Honey, an urban apiary in Akron; and Thaxton's Organic Garlic from Hudson.

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Future of hospitality

As partners, Watts and Cimino talked about what the future of hospitality should look like.

"The pandemic shone a really not-so-great spotlight on our industry and the fact that we didn't take care of our people that well," Cimino said.

"It's a very tough, grueling field to be in. We wanted to make it less tough and grueling, in a sense, and be more rewarding and welcoming and understanding and hospitable because it's the hospitality industry," he said.

Watts and Cimino opened Cordelia in July 2022, with healthcare, dental, vision and 401(K) benefits for their employees.

"We wanted to set the tone for this next generation of hospitality culture," Cimino said. "We love cooking and hospitality and sharing it with others."

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Early aspirations

Sixteen years ago, when Cimino was a line cook, he was on his first date with his future wife Sarah at the former Bricco in downtown Akron. He talked about the chefs he looked up to, including celebrated Cleveland chef Michael Symon. He aspired to one day work at that level and talked with Sarah about the James Beard Awards.

Now, Cimino's Cordelia is located in the space where Symon's Lola Bistro formerly was on East 4th Street.

Cimino's still wrapping his head around his James Beard semifinalist recognition. He said the honor is a testament to the team that works with him every day at Cordelia.

"It's a very surreal thing to be able to actualize your dreams and I'm forever grateful for the opportunities that I've been given and I will forever continue to push to do that for my family and my staff and our restaurant," he said. "I'm just humbled to be able to represent Cleveland, to represent Northeast Ohio."

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Vinnie Cimino is a James Beard semifinalist and Akron native