Crooning and Cooking

Santa Barbara’s Singing Chef Andy LoRusso, who now lives in Naples, Florida, was diagnosed with the neurological disorder dystonia, a mild form of Parkinson’s disease, two years ago.

“It causes excessive involuntary muscle contractions for which I take Botox shots every ninety days,” says Andy, who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, before finding his passion for authentic Italian food combined with music, given his Sicilian grandmother Grace would cook while playing the world’s greatest operatic arias.

He published his first cookbook, Sing & Cook Italian, in 1991, which came with an audiotape allowing participants to warble away as they prepared culinary delights.

After almost 28 years of traveling around the world cooking for thousands of people at special events, as well as appearing regularly on The Food Network, The Donnie and Marie Show, and myriad local morning shows, Andy, who studied under the world-renowned vocal coach Giovanna D’Onofrio, published his second book, Sing & Cook With Andy LoRusso The Singing Chef.

Now, he tells me, he is launching a line of private label sauces including tomato basil, vodka cream, and sausage fennel sauce, digging deep into his grandmother’s family recipes, which will retail for $6.99 to $8.99 depending on the outlet.

Given his recent medical diagnosis, Andy is donating a portion of the gross sales to the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation in Chicago.

To help promote the new product during the coronavirus lockdown, Andy is broadcasting Zoom cooking classes for an audience of 1,500 would-be chefs later this month.