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By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — When Italians say “che capolavoro,” a phrase that means “what a masterpiece,” they may add a fingers-to-lips chef’s kiss.
In March, those two words appeared on county records as the name of a limited liability company that bought the former Der Rathskeller property, the iconic two-level building and popular patio at 1132 Auburn St.
Now, the English translation of che capolavoro sums up early reviews of Plume, a restaurant and bar project by hospitality-industry veterans Chase Williams and Lia Pennacchi that officially opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
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The Rockford newlyweds and self-proclaimed perfectionists began a short series of soft openings on Friday night. Among online comments from people who got coveted invitations to the first seatings and the invitees we talked to, excitement is strong for the northern Italian upscale casual spot. Plume is transforming the space that Rockford’s much-missed German eatery had filled for decades.
“This felt like we were going to a restaurant with a James Beard award or a Michelin star,” Jennifer Tillou Boviall, an adjunct professor of culinary arts at Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, Wisconsin, and the former executive chef at The Norwegian, said of her experience there on Friday.
“For Rockford, Plume means so much,” said Boviall, who worked with Williams at two restaurants and calls him one of her greatest mentors.
“We’ve already got amazing spots like SALT off Spring Creek, and Abreo and 27 Aluna downtown, amongst other greats like Crust & Crumbles,” Boviall said. “Now that Chase has his own place in the North End — which has seen such a come-up since the opening of The Norwegian — the love, passion and sense of community is flowing. I only expect all of that passion to bleed even more into the Rockford community and beyond.”
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Williams is Plume’s executive chef. Pennacchi is Plume’s drink chef. Having worked together both in downtown Rockford and in downtown Janesville, they’re now marrying their hard work and talents in the kitchen and behind the bar to introduce Rockford to the food and drink traditions of Emilia-Romagna — the north-central region of Italy where Pennacchi’s father hails from.
Their focus is on sustainability, creativity and inclusivity. They grow their own herbs and some vegetables, source local and seasonal produce and meats, and make as much as they and their staff can in-house.
“We bring you the things we do best through the lens of northern Italian cuisine. You’ll get lots of very authentic traditional dishes reimagined with our little twist,” Pennacchi said. In the case of Plume’s lasagne bolognese, that’s literal: the pasta comes in the shape of a pinwheel.
‘A magician’
Traditional dishes from Pennacchi’s family include tigelle, a board that comes with prosciutto di parma, an aged parmigiano reggiano cheese and petite muffin-like flatbreads which you can split and schmear with housemade strawberry jam and pesto Modenese.
Along with standards from northern Italy, you’ll find northern Italian-influenced sides like a polenta puree, olive-oil braised greens, and giardiniera-style pickled vegetables with hot chicken, a Williams signature since his days at Social Urban Bar and Restaurant in downtown Rockford (the pre-pandemic version of Social Charcuterie Bar and Cocktails) and later during his days as executive chef at Lark in Janesville.
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Pennacchi takes immense pride in her husband studying culinary techniques from her father’s homeland and finding ways to apply them. If you order the pepperoni beef spiedini, you find it’s finished with fennel pollen — a treatment gentler than fennel seeds. Williams orders it from Italy.
“I know I’m a little biased, but Chase is a magician. He has so much talent and just so much knowledge,” Pennacchi told guests Friday night.
In Plume’s scratch kitchen, Williams has three chefs working with him.
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Expect all the pasta to be freshly handmade. Some of the pasta dishes can be ordered gluten-free, including paccheri pesto, a tubular pasta swirled in pesto made of almonds and tarragon, and then swirled again in roasted maitake mushrooms, goat cheese and micro croutons.
That was the dish Holli Connell, owner of Winnie Nutter (the vintage clothing shop inside Engine Studio), ordered Saturday night. She and her husband, Doug, who live and work in the neighborhood, were among the guests invited to the second of Plume’s soft openings.
“To be back on that patio after all these years was fantastic. And with the addition of the handmade pasta, which I was able to get gluten-free, and tasty cocktails — chef’s kiss,” said Connell, who also ordered Ca-Peach, one of Pennacchi’s cocktail creations. “This historical building in the North End has a new life and I’m here for it.”
The inclusive menu
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Plume’s current food menu is divided into four sections: pasta dishes, small plates, large plates, and desserts.
In each category, there’s an effort to be inclusive of people with food allergies, sensitivities and dietary preferences.
- Four of the six pasta dishes can be made gluten-free. That’s in addition to a total of eight other gluten-free options: four small plates, three large plates and one dessert.
- There also are four vegetarian options: two for small plates, and two for pasta.
- There are three vegan options: two for small plates, and one for large plates.
- And there are two dairy-free options: one for pasta, and one for large plates.
Several menu options check two boxes, including halloumi, which is both gluten-free and vegetarian.
“Not Italian, but popular in the Adriatic,” Williams said as he briefly broke away from the kitchen during a photo shoot. His version comes with an almond puree, mint, and a strawberry-rhubarb compote.
Even when as the menu changes according to season and supply, the commitment to making more people feel comfortable there will hold, Pennacchi said.
Inclusivity extends to Plume’s drink menu.
“If you abstain from drinking for whatever reason, you can know that you can come here and get something that will be well-thought-out and flavorful,” Pennacchi said, referring to the mocktail option where a guest can list flavors they like, and she and her team take it from there. “I’ve made savory mocktails. I’ve made sweet. I’ve made spicy. I’ve made smoky.”
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Sharing bar duties with Pennacchi are two drink chefs in training.
The drink menu includes Italian wine, draft beer, spritz cocktails, and a growing collection of amaro, an Italian liqueur served as a digestif.
So long as they have the ingredients, any better-known cocktail or spirit is also available.
From beer garden to spritz bar
Der Rathskeller closed in 2019 after 88 years. A short-lived iteration, Rathskeller Rockford, which had opened during the coronavirus pandemic, closed in October 2021 after a year.
Though the patio added in 2009 wasn’t there as long as the original restaurant, which dated to 1931, it was a beloved beer garden through both iterations.
At Plume, the wide-open outdoor space is for additional seating and a spritz bar — a spot to enjoy versions of the light, bubbly craft cocktail which originated in Italy and, thanks to its most recognizable version (Aperol spritz), continues to gain fans across the U.S.
Just like Williams and his kitchen team hand-making pasta for every dish day-in, day-out is a first for Rockford, so is a dedicated spritz bar.
Spritz options on the Plume drink menu include a Naperol spritz — a nonalcoholic version of the Aperol spritz.
‘Travel from far and wide’
“It will be a fresh asset for the North End and for all of Rockford as well,” Barbara Pennacchi, Lia’s mother, said in March after she and her husband, Claudio, a Machesney Park couple, bought the Der Rathskeller building.
At that time, the couple wouldn’t say more about the plans until the leasing agreement was finalized. The only clue was then their LLC’s name, Che Capolavoro.
The nod of a chef’s kiss is spot-on for Boviall.
“I see Rockford as a community for the foodies and budding culinarians,” Boviall said. “I expect people to travel from far and wide to check out Plume, whether it’s for employment or enjoyment.”
If you go | Plume Rockford
Where: 1132 Auburn St., Rockford
Grand opening: 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 19
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday; 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday
Reservations: exploretock.com/plumerockford
On the web: plumerockford.com
On Facebook: Plume Rockford
On Instagram: @PlumeRockford
Contact: info@plumerockford.com
More photos | Plume Rockford
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This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.