Before he trained in Michelin-starred kitchens in Europe, before he hand-rolled pasta in Eugene, Maurizio Bianchi was the picky kid at the dinner table.
His parents called him “Beccofino,” Italian for “sharp beak,” a nickname for someone who’s fussy about food. Today, that same name sits on the side of the food truck where the Italian chef serves fresh pasta out of his very own establishment.
Bianchi grew up in Padua, Italy, near Venice, in a family where food was central to everyday life. He says his mother and grandparents were exceptional home cooks, and his father hunted birds, exposing him to seasonal ingredients and traditional Italian cooking from a young age.
“Italians are very centered about food,” he says. “What you eat every day, the quality of what you’re eating, the seasonality of the ingredients, it’s all very important.”
Originally, becoming a chef wasn’t the plan. After studying law in Italy for two years, Bianchi realized he wanted a career that was more hands-on.
“I wanted to do something more practical and something that I enjoyed day by day,” he says.
He enrolled in hospitality school before beginning a culinary career that would span nearly two decades and some of Europe’s most celebrated kitchens. He interned at Le Calandre, one of Italy’s most celebrated restaurants under Chef Massimiliano Alajmo, before working in restaurants throughout Padua, Milan, London and Rome, including multiple Michelin-starred establishments.
Those years, he says, weren’t about prestige as much as learning the art of food.
“You learn the techniques,” Bianchi says. “You learn how to elaborate the dishes, how to create multiple layers of flavors.”
The work demanded long hours and relentless dedication.
His career eventually took him to London, where he worked at a high-end Japanese restaurant and met the woman who would become his wife while she was completing her master’s degree. After several years in London, the couple moved to Rome, married and in 2018 settled in Eugene so she could be closer to her family.
Though thousands of miles from Italy, Bianchi found echoes of home in Oregon’s ingredient-driven food culture. He joined the team at Lion and Owl, where he worked as a chef until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the restaurant industry.
When the pandemic brought restaurant life to a halt, Bianchi found himself at a crossroads. “The big decision was, ‘Do I want to go back to work for another place, or do I want to try to make something on my own with all the experience that I gathered?’”
He chose the latter, seeing an opportunity for authentic handmade pasta in Eugene. In 2022, Bianchi launched Beccofino, despite having virtually no experience with food trucks.
“We don’t have those in Italy,” he says. “The first food truck I saw was in Seattle, and I was fascinated by this huge truck with a fully equipped kitchen.”
The truck gave Bianchi the freedom to cook on his own terms, blending the techniques he had learned over decades in those Michelin-starred kitchens with the ingredients that first drew him to Oregon. And unlike many chefs who dream of expanding into larger restaurants, Bianchi says he has no immediate plans to grow beyond his food truck.
That same curiosity continues long after the last bowl of pasta is served. Bianchi spends his free time foraging for mushrooms and wild herbs, fishing, harvesting razor clams and exploring Oregon’s forests and coastline. The Pacific Northwest landscape that convinced him to stay has become an extension of his kitchen, constantly offering new ingredients.
Creating a business that could reflect that philosophy, however, took time. Building that kitchen took nearly eight months, and learning the business came with its own challenges. Today, Bianchi still operates largely as a one-man show, preparing fresh pasta, taking orders and serving customers himself.
“I like to control every aspect of the food,” he says. “From the source of the ingredients to the cooking process, to the final plating and interacting with customers as well.”
While he misses some of the seafood varieties found near Padua, the Northwest provides its own inspiration through salmon, rockfish and razor clams. The challenge, he says, is balancing authenticity with local ingredients and keeping meals affordable.
His menu changes roughly every month as Oregon’s seasons change. Rather than replicate Italy ingredient for ingredient, Bianchi adapts traditional recipes to what the Pacific Northwest offers.
“You use what’s available,” he says.
Beccofino is open noon to 9 pm Fridays, noon to 8 pm Saturdays and 4 pm to 8 pm on Thursdays at 520 Charnelton Street. More info on Facebook, and check Google for hours, 458-221-5038.