Noted Italian chef Secci dies

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 10:56 a.m.

Enzo Secci, an Italian-born and trained chef whose earthy Tuscany-style dishes have been a culinary treasure at the Bellagio's Circo restaurant, died Monday of a heart attack while bicycling. He was 36.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 2 1/2 years were scheduled for today at Palm Mortuary, 7400 W. Cheyenne Ave. Circo was closed for lunch today so Secci's co-workers could attend his funeral.

Although Secci was from the Sardinia region, he early on developed an affection for Tuscany style cooking, which brings out more of the natural flavors of meat, pasta, vegetable and fish dishes by using olive oil and a small amount of butter.

Tuscany cooking is a 180-degree turnabout from the traditional Italian-American style cooking that is rich in tomato sauces, meatballs and Parmesan cheese.

Shunning that style and believing that American customers would be willing to try different types of Italian cuisine, Secci remained true to the Tuscany style, utilizing and combining ingredients such as fresh zucchini, shrimp and lobster.

In an Oct. 23, 1998, column, about two weeks after Circo opened at the Bellagio, Sun food writer Muriel Stevens wrote that Secci's Fiorentina T-bone steak was "every bit as good as the one I'd enjoyed in Florence."

Sliced from the bone, Secci served that tender meat dish with cannelloni, seasonal mushrooms and baked tomatoes.

Born Oct. 4, 1964, in Port Ferraio Isle d'Elba, Italy, Secci was raised in Southern Italy and was sent to a culinary-hotel school in Sardinia as a teenager and got experience working in area restaurants.

Upon graduating at age 18, Secci worked in several restaurants before his arrival at Vipore, a Tuscany hilltop gourmet restaurant frequented by Italian celebrities. By 1994, Secci not only had risen in rank to head chef at Vipore, but he also became part owner of the eatery.

Three years ago, Secci's cooking was sampled by Sirio Maccioni, patriarch of the family that owns both Le Cirque and Osteria del Circo in New York City. Maccioni was so impressed, he asked Secci to come to America to be the executive chef at his new restaurant at the Bellagio.

Secci is survived by his fiancee, Cybele Leonori of Las Vegas, and his mother, Peitrini Secci of Sardegna, Italy.