EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY!! With Vincenzo Betulia

From Execution to Excellence! Entrepreneur Jane Bond

Vincenzo, shares with us his story of being fearless at the age of fifteen by taking the train from Milwaukee into Chicago to work for free at the world-famous Spiaggia, restaurant as a line cook to hone his skills.

With the challenges of an ailing father he ultimately had to stay put in Milwaukee. Later on, through all the hard work, tears and heartbreak Vincenzo found himself in Naples, Fl. as a Chef at well known Campiello restaurant. After several years as the head chef Vincenzo was able to open up his own restaurant.

A Sicilian native, Vincenzo Betulia grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after his parents moved there from Sicily when he was 2 years old. He began his career there at age 14 with an after-school job in Paul and Joe Bartolotta’s Ristorante Bartolotta. By age 15, he held a prized spot on the pizza line. He ultimately attained the chef position, became a Bartolotta protégé, and helped open two additional Bartolotta restaurants in Milwaukee.

While attending the Kendall Culinary School in Chicago, Chef Vincenzo further honed his skills at Bartolotta’s acclaimed Spiaggia. In Chicago, and later in Milwaukee, he worked with Michael White, a fellow Kendall alum and Bartolotta protégé. On a vacation in Naples, Florida, Chef Vincenzo fell in love with the area and secured a chef's position at Campiello, a staple in the Naples dining scene.

He worked his way up to head chef, a position he held for nine years, before opening his namesake restaurant, Osteria Tulia in January 2013, and Bar Tulia, an Italian gastropub and craft cocktail bar, in December 2014. A culinary trendsetter and major force in the Naples dining scene, Chef Vincenzo has opened his third restaurant, The French, a French rustic brasserie, in the fall of 2016.

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