Magic Pan

An $8,000 pure silver San Lorenzo sauté pan

By Jeff Ruby

Magic Pan Bruno Abate, the eccentric chef/owner of Follia, wears white-framed sunglasses and orange shoes and rides a Vespa. Lately, he also has begun cooking with an $8,000 pure silver San Lorenzo sauté pan from a jewelry store in Milan. “It’s like going back in time,” says Abate. “You cook over a low flame, and it cuts the acidity of everything.” He plans to buy a whole set for Follia and is obviously proud of the thing. “He keeps it in a quilted cover that looks like a vintage Chanel bag,” says Mary Ann Childers, the veteran TV newswoman. “He pulled it out to show us during dinner.” 953 W. Fulton Market; 312-243-2888.

Photography: Blackbox Studios, Inc.

This article appears in the August 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine.

Did you like what you read here? Subscribe to Chicago Magazine »