Johanne Killeen and George Germon, Chefs/Owners, Al Forno

FOODSERVICE EAST PRESENTS
July 2014
SECRETS OF SUCCESS
An ongoing series of
interviews with
chefs, restaurateurs
and foodservice
operators, Secrets of
Success looks at the
paths taken to
professional
recognition and
acclaim.
Johanne Killeen and George Germon
Chefs/Owners, Al Forno, Providence, RI
By Foodservice East
It was 1980 when a young couple who’d fallen in love with Italian cuisine opened Al Forno, a small
restaurant venture whose name translates to “from the oven,” that quickly became one of most acclaimed
restaurants in the Northeast. Their passion for northern Italian fare came from their travels, when Johanne
worked in a tiny restaurant near Florence and George taught for RI School of Design’s European Honors
Program in Room at Palazzo Cenci. Thirty-four years later and numerous award-winning cookbooks, they
are credited for kicking off chef-driven dining establishments in the tiny state’s capitol.
SECRETS OF SUCCESS July 2014
FOODSERVICE EAST
SECRETS OF SUCCESS
FSE: Johanne’s comment that the kitchen
became your studio is great but was it that
easy?
kitchen together with all used equipment. We paid $5
each for the original nine chairs. We bought the
silverware from Star Market for .10 each. It was a
small step up from plastic knives and forks. The guests
complained if they used too much force they would
bend! The plates--also used--were sturdy white
ironstone with a turquoise border. The pattern was
called Sea Spray and the color influenced the original
tones we used in the dining room—pastel pink and
blue. Unable to install a new floor, we spatter-painted
the existing dreary poop-brown 1950’s vinyl tiles. It
was all very charming! Renovations happened often
as our needs changed. We have always believed in reinvesting in the business. Keeps us busy!
J&G: In terms of creativity, it was a change of
medium. We use the same principles working on
recipes as we do with any art or design project. It is a
fairly natural process for us.
FSE: What led to the TINI Bar which also won
all kinds of praise and awards for
outstanding bar food and drinks and to its
closing?
FSE: What led you to move from just lunch to
dinner?
J&G: We love small places—the original Al Forno was
700 square feet. When we saw the space on
Washington—a mere 400 square feet-- we fell in love.
Now, that was a design and engineering feat!
We had a great time doing it. We were brokenhearted
when Darius, the chef and manager, decided to leave
to pursue farming. He had opened TINI with us and
had trained at Al Forno for four years or so before
TINI. There was no one on either staff with the same
experience with us. And, Al Forno was too busy to
sacrifice a set of hands. We felt we had no choice but
to close the doors.
FSE: You both had training in fine arts when
you began – how did that translate into
running a restaurant?
J&G: It translated into creating a space that was
unique, a menu and food that were unlike anything
Providence had ever seen, and an ambiance that was
very “Italian” in spirit. Learning to “run” a
restaurant was another story—a long slow learning
curve.
J&G: At the time there was more need and
opportunity for evening service. Providence was
saturated with private clubs serving lunch.
FSE: Did you ever think at the start that Al
Forno would be such a groundbreaking
restaurant and that you would be honored
with so many awards and accolades?
J&G: Haha! Our noses were too close to the
grindstone. We had no expectations like that. We
were just happy to be working on a project together
that kept us challenged and learning every day.
FSE: What is the “secret” of your success?
J&G: We don’t think there are any secrets to success.
If you examine the lives of people who are really
successful (and we are NOT putting ourselves in this
category) you see dedication and a willingness to give
up other things in life, often many things, to focus on a
goal.
FSE: What has been the most gratifying part
of creating and running Al Forno for 34 years?
J&G: We have been blessed with incredible people
with whom we work. Not only in the kitchen and
dining room but the artisans: our contractor, plumber,
electrician—all the fine men and women who keep us
running.
FSE: If you weren’t restaurateurs, what would
you like to do?
J&G: Fundamentally, we are artists and use that
training every day no matter what the project.
FSE: What kind of food do you enjoy when you
go out to eat?
J&G: We love Italian—obviously! Can’t get away
from it! We never tire of spaghetti. We love Asian.
We love spicy. We like food that’s not fussed with too
much.
FSE: Do you cook at home and if so, what’s in
your refrigerator?
J&G: Now we are able to cook at home more than in
the last 34 years. We have our refrigerator under
control. In the past we had wine, ketchup and
mustard but mostly science projects—very typical of
chefs who work all the time. It took a sabbatical in
FSE: You say that the food is the canvas for
France, and living the French lifestyle, to become
your art – tell me how colors, plating, etc. play more aware of our food—what we purchased and
into that.
how little we wasted. It had a huge impact on us. We
never went to the daily markets or the supermarket
J&G: It’s an ephemeral thing that’s hard to put into
without a basket. It’s amazing how much trash you
words. Colorful ingredients make plates look more
can eliminate from your life with a few simple
interesting and appetizing. But, that said, we tend to
changes.
create the all-white meal for Thanksgiving—turkey,
mashed potatoes, white Macomber turnips! And, it’s FSE: How do you see the restaurant and the
delicious.
industry changing in the next five years?
FSE: What was it like designing the restaurant J&G: Television, the press, and social media have had
and how has it changed over the years?
the most impact on the industry in the last 5 years. Is
that a good thing or a bad thing? Only time will tell
J&G: ”We opened the original location on a
for the next 5 years.
shoestring. Lots of design decisions were made based
on budget—or lack of budget. We scabbed the