Mob Cheff in the news
Pueblo's own "Mob Cheff" prepares to release cookbook
and more
By Lena Howland, KOAA TV, March 15, 2015
PUEBLO - A well-known former Pueblo restaurant owner is turning over a new leaf.
Tony Ianne calls himself the "Mob Cheff."
"I had 81 felonies but I never went to jail or anything so I figured I'd embrace that publicity in a good way," Tony Ianne, a "Mob Cheff" author said.
For those who don't remember, he only served probation for just one of those felonies a few years ago.
"I learned a lot, I just want to move on, use the publicity that was given to me, the tag that I got stuck with as something positive," Ianne said.
Ianne has been in the restaurant business since he was ten. 44 years later, he's releasing a cookbook with a lifetime of work.
By Peter Roper, The Pueblo Chieftain, October 7, 2014
Pueblo’s best-known scribe, Damon Runyon, knew all about the public’s love of the shady character when he created the mobster Big Jule in his Broadway play “Guys & Dolls.” An honest man? You bet, Big Jule insists.
“And you can prove it by my record — 33 arrests, no convictions,” the gangster boasts.
Local restaurateur Tony Ianne, 53, is borrowing a page from Runyon. He’s headed for Los Angeles next week with partners Frank Morelli and Austin Morelli to see if Hollywood is interested in cooking lessons from the mob.
That’s right. Ianne, owner of Rosario’s Riverwalk Restaurant, is playing on his own notoriety — and kitchen expertise — to see if he can’t tempt a major channel into a Pueblo-based reality show.
Ianne pitching ‘Mob Cheff’ cooking show to television
Pilot debuts for 'Mob Cheff'
TV pitch
By Jon Pompia, The Pueblo Chieftain, April 20, 2015
After much hype and with an equal amount of fanfare, Tony Ianne’s “Mob Cheff” reality show pilot debuted Sunday before several hundred invitees at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center theater.
Created by Ianne and Frank Morelli, the film’s executive producers were Jeremy Gindro and Bryan Sisson, who also served as director and cinematographer. The 21-minute “Mob Cheff” ultimately proved to be what one would expect from a gangster-themed cooking show, albeit one with a comedic bent.
As a cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” plays, the show opens with photos and historical facts about the Ianne family’s immigration and eventual entry into the restaurant business. Also played up is the fact that Ianne managed to skirt on some 70 felony charges.
With Ianne in character as a heavy-accented, streetwise cook, a basic Italian meal of pasta, sauce, meatballs and a strawberry dessert is prepared in a well-manicured kitchen. At the Mob Cheff’s side are his easy-on-the-eye but none-too-bright kitchen assistants — “Mobettes” Kayleigh Brown and Emily Morrison.