Roberto Cardenas is the corporate executive chef at DeRomo's Gourmet Market and Restaurant, a Sicilian American inspired restaurant. He lives in Estero with his wife, Ljubica, and 7-year-old daughter, Angelica Violette. For more information about DeRomo's, call 325 3583, visit or stop by 26811 South Bay Drive, Bonita Springs, at the Promenade Shopping Center.

Inspirations: My creations

Favorite cuisine to eat: Seafood

Favorite dish from your childhood: Nona's crepe with apricot jam and cheese

What was the first dish you mastered? Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Celebrity (living or dead) you'd love to have dinner with: Nikola Tesla

If I weren't in this business, I'd be…: A carpenter

Things you can't get through the day without: Espresso

Favorite quick meal: Seafood linguine

Cooking gods: Apple pie with vanilla ice cream

If you had your own cooking show, what would you call it? Italiano in America

Guilty food pleasure: Chocolatisimo Lava vanilla ice cream

Food aversion you can't get over: Chinese buffets

Favorite dish on your menu (and why?): Spaghetti Selvaggio. The way I made the dish had it become a best seller

What was your biggest cooking disaster? 380-person reservation, only 52 showed

Favorite SWFL restaurant other than your own: Il Carpaccio Bal Harbour Shops

What would be your last meal? Crepe with apricot jam and cheese

Oddest/most interesting thing in your home fridge right now: Pollen mix with honey and royal jelly

What are your plans for dinner tonight? Olive oil, burrata and ciabatta

Dream vacation: Cairo, Egypt

Oddest thing you've eaten (and did you enjoy it?): I ate huge Columbian ants and they were very good

Age: 48

Where were you born? City Vrbas Vojvodina, Serbia in the former Yugoslavia

Culinary training: Serbia and Roma

Former gigs: Weston Florida Il Toscano Restaurant

Read or Share this story: