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If you ask Bob Quarto how it all began, he will tell you, “I needed to eat!” As a young boy, Bob began cooking at the age of 6, following the unexpected death of his mother. Barely old enough to read, he studied cookbooks and followed the recipes to create dinners for his brother, Ralph, and his father, Fred, who worked long hours to support his two boys.
As the years went by, Bob developed a passion for food and cooking. He began apprenticing in restaurants at age 15. He worked as a chef at the Randy Tar and also at Chuck’s Steakhouse, both in Marina del Rey. He also worked at John Barleycorn in Venice. Three years of intense culinary training under the tutelage of master chef, Andre La Fitte, eventually led to the position of executive chef at La Fitte’s in Beverly Hills.
During these early years, Bob was also attending college and subsequently earned a degree in engineering. He was lured away from his career as a chef by the then-booming aerospace industry. During the next two decades, while working as an aerospace manufacturing supervisor, Bob never lost his passion for food. After 20 years, Bob took an early retirement from the aerospace industry and pursued his lifelong dream of opening an Italian deli.
Being Italian, and also having the influence of his family in Providence, Rhode Island, Bob has brought his “east-coast” style of cooking to Lakewood, California. Bob Quarto believes that “garlic fixes everything”. To that end, he creates magic with his favorite ingredient day after day at Foggia Italian Market & Deli. His techniques yield comfort foods that are outrageously delicious. Simple, yet packed with flavor and served in gigantic proportions, his sandwiches have become his signature. Very few have been able to finish his 2-lb. Philly Cheese Steak in one sitting.
When he’s not in the kitchen, Bob pursues other interests including restoring classic cars. His current pride and joy is a 1956 Chevy Bel Air sitting in his driveway. Having played ice hockey for more than 30 years, Bob still enjoys playing an occasional “pick-up” game now and then, just to stay in shape. And believe it or not, after putting in a long day at the deli, nothing is more relaxing to Bob than coming home and preparing a gourmet meal for his family!