Tony Lo Coco

The Climb

Since 2009, Tony Lo Coco has been chef patron of I Pupi. In that role, his work reads as a settled craft rather than a search for a style: rooted in Sicily, attentive to precision, and built through repetition. Over time, Tony Lo Coco has become identified with translating place into flavor through small, disciplined decisions at the pass.

Today

I Pupi is Tony Lo Coco's restaurant in Bagheria, Italy. The cooking there is marked by clarity and depth, especially in pasta and sauces, where anchovies are used as a central note. Tony Lo Coco has said, "the best way for me to express myself with pasta dishes and sauces is to use anchovies to give the dish that kick of umami that I love." The line points to a direct method: anchovy for force, seasoning, and lift, applied with a practical understanding of how a sauce can carry a dish. Among the dishes most closely associated with him, Tony Lo Coco's Stigghiola remains the one that carries his name most directly. As a signature, it functions as a clear marker of authorship: local, specific, and tied to the work that has come to define him.

Signature

Tony's signature dishes include Tony Lo Coco's Stigghiola. In that named dish, the kitchen language is plain: it identifies him without excess, and it reflects the same local grounding that runs through the rest of his work.

In Their Words Taken together, these words describe an early pull toward the stove and a recurring focus on sauces and generous dishes during festive moments. They also return to Aspra and Sicily as the working geography behind the cooking: the sea nearby, the village rhythm, and the habits of a kitchen formed inside that environment.

Recognition

Tony's honors include First Michelin star. It marks the point where the work at I Pupi moved into wider recognition, while staying anchored to the same place, the same flavor priorities, and the same disciplined approach that shaped it from the start.