Meet the Chef: Victor Zhinin of Piccolo Mulino

Growing up in Ecuador, Victor Zhinin hadn't envisioned being a chef. If he had a choice, he probably would rather have been a fisherman.

Zhinin's parents owned and operated two farms in El Triunfo (Spanish for The Triumph), a small coastal town in the province of Guayas. The farms were about six miles apart and his father traveled back and forth frequently to ensure that both ran smoothly.

During Zhinin's childhood, his mother ran a busy kitchen; meals were prepared for the farm employees as well as for the Zhinin family of eight (there were four boys, of whom Victor was the oldest, and two girls). He occasionally helped by bringing the farm workers their food but otherwise participated little in kitchen activities and didn't learn how to cook until many years later.

His mother often served a combination of foods as a main course instead of a single item—a  practice he later thought made dinner more interesting. Not surprisingly, this is reflected on today's Piccolo Mulino menu.

For example, customers can order Three Season, a veal, chicken and shrimp combination priced at $19.95, or Zuppa di Pesce alla Piccolo Mulino, a seafood combination that changes seasonally (currently consisting of lobster, shrimp and calamari) at $22.95.

His parents' farms were sizable and productive; the crops included corn, wheat and potatoes; they kept many cows, pigs, goats and chickens and marketed vegetables, milk, cheese and eggs.  Race horses were also bred at the farms. Zhinin learned about farming and raising horses at an early age.

But fishing was his favorite pastime and fortunately a river ran close by. Workdays were long on the farm and with daily  chores and attending classes (the school house was a mile away), precious little time remained for recreational activity. Whenever he could, Zhinin would fish; occasionally, he brought trout home for dinner. He probably cared more for fishing than farming.

So in 1975, at the age of 14, he left for America to live with relatives. His father accompanied him and stayed for a month to help him make the adjustment. Finding a job turned out to be easier than getting accepted by the New York City school system.

A Manhattan restaurant hired Zhinin to start at the bottom. He worked there for four years, advancing from dish washing to salad station, then on to the pasta, sauté and broiler stations.  Gradually he became a cook. He joined Santoli's in Flushing and two years later, went to work for Barma, an Italian restaurant on Manhattan's East Side. By 1990, he was ready to start his own place.

He opened Victorio's in Rego Park, which did well for five years but then a disastrous fire destroyed most of the stores on the block where it stood. The restaurant managed to stay open following the fire but business came to a near halt and it had to close. He joined Piero's in Port Chester in 1995. Five years later, he and a partner opened Piccolo Mulino in Mamaroneck. He continued to commute from Queens and his partner traveled from Brooklyn. The trip wore down his partner after about six months so Zhinin bought his share of the restaurant.

Two dishes that are especially popular, Zhinin said, are Veal Milanese which comes with a salad on top and red snapper, served with mussels and clams. Probably the restaurant's signature dish is grilled pork chop served with broccoli rabe on top and hot cherry peppers grown in the restaurant's garden adjacent to the large open-air backyard patio. Basil, tomatoes and parsley are also grown alongside the cherry peppers.

In September, Piccolo Mulino will introduce at least one new dish—Chicken Margarita, a boneless breast of chicken made with asparagus, tomato, prosciutto and mozzarella. With the exception of Tartufo, the desserts are homemade and include rigicotti cheese cake, taramisu and flan.

Gone fishing

"I've only had an opportunity to go fishing once since I came to America," Zninin sighed. "Maybe now that will change. Maria and I are house-hunting so I can be near the restaurant and the water, too."

Piccolo Mulino is located at 136 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck. 914-777-0481. Lunch hours: Noon to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dinner hours: 4 to 10 p.m., daily. www.piccolomulino.com.