Brooke Shields With Scott Tacinelli & Angie Rito: Ciao, Bella

The legendary actress talks with the chefs behind Greenwich Village hot spot Don Angie about the family kitchens that inspired their foodie creations

- Kerry Diamond

When Brooke Shields arrives to meet Scott Tacinelli and Angie Rito, the husband-and-wife chefs behind Don Angie, there’s one question on everyone’s mind: Can Brooke cook? “I once pitched a show to the Cooking Channel called Brooke, Don’t Cook,” confesses the statuesque superstar with a laugh. “I wouldn’t say I cook with ease or flair. I just don’t have the confidence.”

Shields is in luck because her new chef friends have dazzled New Yorkers with their imaginative take on Italian- American cuisine ever since they opened their red-hot red-sauce joint in 2017. Think homemade garganelli nestled in broken-meatball ragu, lasagna rolled into ricotta-stuffed coils, and Thai-inspired prosciutto-melon salad, the summery dish they’re making today.

Cooking doesn’t come naturally to Shields because growing up as a child star in Manhattan meant there wasn’t much time for messing around in the kitchen. She’s been working since she was 11 months old, when famed lensman Francesco Scavullo photographed her for an Ivory Soap ad. As a teen, she appeared in the films Pretty Baby and Blue Lagoon, in Calvin Klein commercials, and on countless magazine covers. So what was a typical dinner? Chinese food. “My mom and I went to the same restaurant every night,” she says.