Chef du Tucson: Luis Prieto of Vero Amore

Growing up in Sonora, Mexico, Luis Prieto found his passion for cooking by watching his grandma.

When he was around 10 years old, Prieto was finally big enough to help her cook and made his first dish — pork posole.

“She gave me the chance and everybody liked it,” said Prieto, who is now the executive chef at Vero Amore, which has two locations at 2920 N. Swan Road and 12130 N. Dove Mountain Blvd.

Prieto took a job as a dishwasher at Los Abrigados Resort and Spa in Sedona when he was 14 years old. In 15 years, he was able to work his way up and around the three restaurants at the resort, which included his first cooking job at Joey Bistro making Italian cuisine.

“Every day was a huge challenge for me to learn more,” he said. “I jumped in the line and tried to do the best I could.”

During his time with Los Abrigados, the owner also paid to send him to Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale for 18 months to help him gain more cooking experience.

“I told him I would drive back to Sedona (after classes),” Prieto said. “When I would drive back, I’d go directly to my job.”

Prieto moved to Tucson in 2000 and worked as chef de cuisine at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador and executive chef at Miguel’s for five years apiece. After two years as the executive chef for Lazydays recreational vehicle dealership, he took his current position at Vero Amore one year ago.

“The Vero Amore family is a nice, beautiful family,” he said. “They respect their employees and offer a big opportunity for everyone.”

Vero Amore is one of a few hundred restaurants around the world certified as an authentic Neapolitan Pizzeria by Italy’s Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana Academy.

At his current position, Prieto is tasked with making 80 percent of the menu daily, including the pasta, mozzarella cheese, dough, meatballs, sauce and bread. Some of the ingredients, like the San Marzano tomatoes and flour, are even shipped in from Italy, while the rest is bought locally.

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“The goal for Vero Amore is to make all the dishes from scratch,” Prieto said. “I don’t get the recipes from anywhere. They’re all the owners’ recipes.”

Prieto said his philosophy in the kitchen is to treat everyone with respect, from the staff to the customers.

“I want people to learn the way I learned,” Prieto said. “I don’t cook because I have to cook, I cook because I like to cook.”

Luis Prieto took some time to answer a few questions for us:

Is there any chef that inspired you?

“Bobby Flay. My dream is to see him and talk to him. For some reason, I connect with the guy every time I see him. I like the way he cooks.”

What would be in your dream kitchen?

“I’m a very natural person. It doesn’t really matter. If you give me tools and knives and water, I can cook anything.”

What is one ingredient you can’t cook without?

“Energy. You can have all the ingredients, but if you don’t have the energy and the attitude, you can’t make amazing dishes.”