AtYour Service
34 SHAKERONLINE.COM | FALL 2017
Growing up in France, Anthony
Vicente developed his passion for
cooking — and fresh, delicious food —
early on. You could say it runs in the family.
“I was born into a family that loved
to eat,” says the Shaker resident and
owner of Flying Garlic, which offers both
catering and personal chef services. “My
grandfather, Marcel, gardened every day
and my grandmother, Madeleine, was a
really good cook,” he says. “Every Saturday,
they opened their home to their children,
their grandchildren, and anybody else who
wanted to stop by. We could be 25 people
around the table each weekend.”
Vicente’s mother and aunts inherited
their parents’ love of good food. “One of
my aunts specialized in game; my mother
was more oriented toward world cuisine,”
he notes.
By the time he was a teenager, Vicente
had decided to become a chef. He enrolled
at the Paris-based Ferrandi French School
of Culinary Arts, which was founded
in 1920 and ranks among France’s top
culinary arts schools. He then went on
to work at several Paris restaurants,
including the Michelin-star rated La Tour
D’Argent (two stars) and Pierre Gagnaire
(three stars). A three-star Michelin rating
is the highest a restaurant can earn; such
restaurants are considered among the best
in the world.
By the early 2000s, Vicente was
working as a sous chef at Paris’s popular
L’Epi Dupin. It’s what’s known as a
“bistronomic” restaurant. Think of it as a
restaurant serving Michelin quality food,
but minus the fancy trappings — silver,
crystal, white tablecloths — that Michelin
restaurants must have to make the cut. The
focus is on the quality of the food.
Then in 2006, Vicente’s wife, Dr.
Peggy Robinet, was offered a post-doctoral
fellowship at the Lerner Research Institute
at the Cleveland Clinic. (Today, she’s a
research associate at the Institute and an
adjunct assistant professor at the Lerner
College of Medicine.)
By Diana Simeon
Photography by Angelo Merendino