Paolo Laboa�s journey started in his mothers kitchen, where he learned the secrets of real Genovese cooking, the pinnacle of Northern Italian cuisine. Every ingredient chef Paolo touches is fresh from the farm to his kitchen to your table. Some of his favorite farms are Stonecipher farm, Dandelion springs farm, Olivia�s Garden for basil and herbs and North spore for foraged mushrooms. Fresh fish is brought in each day by either Upstream, Harbor fish market or Brown�s trading Co. He also sources things like wild rabbit from Sumner Valley Farm, lamb and pork from Rosemont and dairy from these farmers also.

�Cooking is what I love and I want each ingredient to sing. Simplicity is my goal. If there are five ingredients, I want you to taste all five of them.�

Breads and pasta�s are all made in house from scratch using traditional Genoan recipes. � It is very important�the food that you eat� says Laboa.

He and his family have moved from the west coast to be closer to Gloucester MA, where his wife Mercedes grew up. He and Mercedes have two young daughters who already feel very at home here, they love the ocean and can�t wait for the snow. Portland reminds Paolo very much of Genova, Italy. �I love having the sea in front and the mountains and forest in the back, so many different food flavors to work with�, says chef Paolo.