Chef John Peduzzi

A Culinary Legend

In Schignano, Italy, a beautiful mountain town six miles from Switzerland near the lake of Como, John Peduzzi was born on August 8, 1911. In 1912, John Peduzzi immigrated with his family to America. They settled in the Vermont towns of Hardwick and Windsor on the great Connecticut River. John attended school there until October, 1924. A death in his mother’s family forced the Peduzzis to return to Italy. John Peduzzi completed his education in Italian schools, where he mastered the language of his native land but had a difficult time adjusting. His heart was already beating in the new world.

It was, however, his return to Italy that allowed John to meet his sister, Maria. Rather than going with her family to America in 1912, Maria had chosen to stay in Italy. John Peduzzi’s father, Angelo, wanted his son to go to college. John had other ambitions. He was sent to hotel school. The senior Peduzzi said, “Learn, then, to be a cook. One day you will run our family’s small hotel.”

On May 10, 1926, John Peduzzi began his culinary career at age fifteen. Apprenticed by one of the most highly acclaimed Italian resorts, the Hotel Europe in San Remo on the Italian Riveria, John worked for three years. Immediately, upon graduating as a full-fledged Apprentice, John found employment as second commis-entrametier at the Grand Hotel Bellevue and Kurhaus in San Remo.

After twelve years of service in hotels, restaurants, and small eating establishments, John accepted a position as Chef Saucier at the Grand Hotel Regina Carlton in Rome. In Rome, he met and married Esther.

In the spring of 1941, the Executive Chef of the Grand Hotel Regina Carlton resigned. The position was offered to John Peduzzi by Guiseppe Lanzi, the Hotel Director who was one of Italy’s premier chefs. [Lanzi was known in chef’s circles as “The Little Escoffier of Italy.” At eighteen, Lanzi had the opportunity to work on an exchange base with the Maitre of Modern Cuisine, Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy in London. Giuseppe Lanzi had talent, discipline, and a great love for Haute Cuisine.] Recognizing this wisdom and experience, John Peduzzi asked Lanzi to serve as his mentor. John Peduzzi was a happy chef with a lovely wife and dreams for the future.

In December 1942, John Peduzzi was drafted into the Italian Army. The winds of war were blowing. He was initially destined to go to Russia. However, the Italians needed English interpreters. John ended up in the south of Italy in Camp #65 of POWs.

When the British 8th Army overtook Bari, Italy, John was working in the hospital for POWs with the International Red Cross. Classified a non-combatant soldier and protected by the Geneva Convention, John joined forces with the British. Chef Peduzzi’s new position was as chef for and advanced field hospital. For two years, John followed the war-front cities of; Bari, Foggia, Cassina, Rome, Florence, Castel San Pietro, Bologna, Parma, and Monfazcone. He returned home in May, 1945. Listed previously as an MIA by the Italian Army, it was a tearful reunion. Tragedy, however, had not escaped the Peduzzi family. John’s sister, Maria, was killed in an air raid; his brother was beaten badly by the Germans; and his own wife was jailed by the Facists because of his American sympathies.

From May, 1945 until May, 1946, John worked as a chef and interpreter of the OSS. In 1946, while employed as chef for the American Consulate in Milano, John’s application for his United States return was completed.

In May of 1948, John returned to America with a contract secured for employment as Chef de Cuisine at the City Club of Spartanburg, South Carolina [later renamed the Piedmont Club]. John was the chef there for nine years and General Manager for twenty years. He retired in 1977 to Lake Murray in Gilbert, South Carolina.

In 1978, John became restless and accepted the position as Chef from his friend Mel Barrington, Director of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Administration at the University of South Carolina. After seventeen years, John again retired in the spring of 1995.

John has since been an active member of the community as well as the American Culinary Federation. He has become a mentor and an inspiration to hundreds of cooks and apprentices. John is a living legend and a model for young culinarians to emulate. There are students literally around the nation who have been molded by John Peduzzi’s culinary and practical wisdom. His contributions are priceless. John Peduzzi is a Chef’s Chef!

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