Eating is a necessity, but dining is an art. – François de La Rochefoucauld
If you’ve made the enjoyment of food an art form in Philadelphia, it’s the folks at City Food Tours. Top-notch charm has earned a reputation for sharing the unique and delicious flavors of Philadelphia’s colorful food culture with tourists and locals alike. He took a moment between bites to reach out to owner Matt Schillizzi.
Are you from Philadelphia? Not really. I’m from North Jersey, but I’ve lived in Philadelphia for 15 years. Initially, I came here to study at Temple University and I wasn’t used to being in the city. Even though I’m from North Jersey, we didn’t move to New York growing up. So when I first came to Philadelphia, I hated it. I was scared. Philadelphia was known for its bravery and the Temple campus was very different from what I was used to. But over time, I started to like Philadelphia, and I feel like some of the reasons I love it now are some of the reasons I was scared. That’s at first. Now, I couldn’t believe I was leaving Philadelphia or calling anywhere else home.
Tell me a little bit about your circle of relatives. I have a brother. He is 3 years older than me. He is married and has two children: Cody, eight, and Brooke, five. They are a lot of fun. Since they are relatively close, I can see my circle of relatives about once a month. Either I go all the way to North Jersey or they come and stop in me. I was fortunate to be very close to my circle of developing relatives. To this day, I call my mom almost a day and two, so we are very aware of what is going on in each other’s lives. But for me, coming to Philly was like this Goldilocks distance. I was far enough away from home, but not so far away that I felt isolated. I also kept in touch with a lot of friends from the top school that I’m still very, very close with today, but I also wanted to meet new people and start over in college.
What did your parents do? My father drove semi-trucks for UPS. And my mother was a licensed social painter for the state of New Jersey. My brother is an HVAC painter. My career was a little different from the others. I’ve painted in high school for most of my life. race. My brother and I are very different from each other. He’s much more macho: clever in hand paintings and construction stuff. He’s finishing a hangar right now. My father built cars and everything. I was the one who was musical. I still practiced my tool and traveled for performances or musical shows. Growing up, I played a few sports, but they weren’t team sports. I did karate and track and field, where my brother played baseball, basketball, and football.
Tell me more about those additional programs. What did you play, etc. ?I played the xylophone. I did karate for 6 or 7 years and got the second degree of brown belt, but black belt in about two years. It’s a long process. On the track I did pole vaulting. I chose the pole vault because an organization of my friends did track and field and I wanted to be on the team, but I didn’t need to run much.
Wow, pole vaulting! What’s the scariest thing about it?Because it sounds scary. It’s not just one thing. I mean, I don’t forget it the first time. You hold a pole and are told to run as fast as you can to the mat and plant the post in the small hole. But then you want to inform yourself not only about how to stand up, but also how to lean back when you do this and how to lift your legs. The scariest component is lifting your legs above your head and believing that if you lean back enough, which is not natural. Desire to do, jump even higher.
Okay, more strength for you. What is your specialization in Temple?My first cycle in music. I knew I wanted to paint in high school for my career and was fortunate enough to find a job after graduating from Temple’s Boyer School of Music and Dance, particularly control and planning. It’s the ideal job at the beginning of my career and I painted in it for about six years. It was at that time that I embarked on my master’s studies. I then painted at Temple College of Dentistry for about 3 years. I wanted my career to be in high school. So stepping away from music new opportunity, but still being part of dental school.
And you have a wonderful smile! [Laughs] Thank you! People would wonder if this was a requirement of the position!And so, they also gave me my allocation control certification. My next assignment was to work at Rutgers University in Camden, in the Chancellor’s Office, where I carried out special assignments and institutional duties. Assignments for college. I did it for a year.
So, are you a foodie as a kid?Grow? No, I can’t say that. I mean, I hear other people say that their parents used to make all these wonderful meals to grow up, and I can’t say that we did. My family doesn’t have a great culinary history. I started learning in college. This was because I was on a campus flooded with food trucks offering all kinds of food. In my sophomore year, I set out to control the driving of each and every truck on campus. It was my way of starting to explore, because before I move on to college, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve eaten Asian food. I had never eaten Indian food, and in fact [never ate] African food. So I looked to explore, especially on a varied campus like Temple and Philadelphia as a whole.
And I’m the kind of foodie who’s not very smart at cooking. I’m not the type of user who can eat anything, peel it, and tell you all the flavors and seasonings in it. But I’m the kind of foodie who sees food as something fun and as a pleasure that can bring other people together. And so, when I go out to eat, everything related to it, the service, the atmosphere, the general pleasure, the presentation, of course, the quality. The themes too, but also the company.
The funny thing is, I have a friend from the best school who came to visit me when I was in college, and we went on a food tour of Philly together, anything to do. I don’t forget him saying to me, “Matt, I see you’re doing this as a job. I think that planted a seed in my mind. Once I finished my master’s degree and settled into my new job, I thought, “All right, let me see anything. new. I sent an email to the corporations that were doing the rounds and the timing was right. They were looking for someone. So it was an adjacent form of a food enthusiast.
Well, you’re going to laugh. I do food reviews for the newspaper and I don’t know how to cook either. They went well because I think I’m a pretty decent editor and I really enjoy a fancy meal and an engaging atmosphere. But at first my friends made fun of me for my lack of cooking skills. I get it. I don’t forget that the first time I went on a food tour, I almost felt like an imposter. I wonder, who are those other people on the tour?There were probably more in Philadelphia than I was. But he had the information and he knew what to say. And I was able to offer a wonderful delight. Over time, it builds on that and generates a preference to explore more to become familiar with the cuisine and delight in you. We are offering.
For those unfamiliar with the company, describe what it does. We will offer nomadic culinary experiences. We need to bring people and food together. We don’t just go to a place to eat and eat. We need to offer other people a diversity of Philly flavors. Whether it’s the classic foods you can think of, cheesesteaks, tomato pie, pretzels and popsicles, or anything better, for example, some of the James Beard Award-winning restaurants in Philadelphia or maybe anything yet to be discovered. We do a lot of tours that take other people off the beaten path. , to show them the familiar places that even locals pass by without even noticing. We love an immersive experience, whether it’s something hands-on or the chef coming in for a demonstration. We need our tours to be something memorable, and beyond that, we need to be ambassadors for Philadelphia.
I’m very lucky. I have a wonderful team of 10 tour guides. They are very proud to make up our city and do a phenomenal job. They love to talk about their personal story so you can get in touch with the other people who organize our tours. In addition to our fantastic event guides, we collaborate a lot with restaurateurs and chefs. They love to host our groups. And the smart thing is that they are able to prioritize our reservations, logistics, etc. It also gives them a chance to get away from everyday life. If they are in the kitchen all the time or taking care of the front desk, it gives them a chance to communicate with visitors and leave a lasting impression. We need to involve them. We need them to share their stories and communicate what it means to be a component of Philadelphia’s culinary identity.
What are two secret little discoveries that you like?Oh, there are so many. A secret consumer – I would say – is called Porcini. It’s a small Italian stall in Rittenhouse Square. Es one of the retail locations. I mean, there are so many fantastic places in Filadelfia. No we can recognize them all. Most of the places we go to regularly attract a lot of attention, they are already very well known. But Porcini is one that, as soon as you walk in, you realize it’s a small family farm. It’s an almost residential block on Rittenhouse and looks very picturesque. Everything is ready to brand new on the spot and it’s a BYOB!When you walk in, they make you feel like a circle of family. They greet you without delay and may even sing you a song.
The other is called Apricot Stone. Es a place to eat Armenian in Northern Liberties. Their food is phenomenal. If you go, you should get Manti’s ground beef meatballs served in poultry broth with garlic sumac yogurt. In addition to the tours, I also took friends and family there and everyone is very happy with the Manti, but it also has many other delicious dishes. It’s also a store run by a small circle of relatives. I know the owner, Chef Fimy. She and her son run it together. They even opened their doors when the eating place wasn’t open because they just need us to come in and feel like we belong.
I’m sure you find people from all over. Where do they come from farthest away?Oh yes, we get tourists from other countries. Today I had someone from South Africa on tour. Tomorrow we have six influential Indian people that the CVB brought to Philadelphia and will be coming for our historic tour. What makes us so proud about being Food Liaison Officers for Philadelphia is that we know our success is global. Giving other people our city, our food, helps them better perceive Philadelphia and our food scene. They have a great time and go back to their home country and talk about what Philly is like and the diversity we have here. Really wonderful.
What’s one of the hardest things, other than COVID, that you’ve had to deal with?I’d say let them tell you when to disconnect. I’ve been applying for the company for six years, but it’s been my company for a year and a half and it’s my only task now. I don’t consider it for running yet. So as soon as I wake up, I’m on the computer. Sometimes I have to pass out and make a layover on my own. It’s not very frequent, regularly my other guides take care of it, but I interfere when necessary. And then I go home and work again. I’m sure many business owners would agree: we need to do a lot more. I feel guilty when I take a day off, or even a few hours off, knowing there’s more to do. So I shouldn’t forget to take some time to recharge my batteries.
Getting back to the personal point, what was the first sign that you were gay? [Laughs] I’ll check it out to stay in this PG. I’ve known him all my life. I don’t forget that when I was in kindergarten, there was a boy kissing another boy. The total elegance spoke of it. And I don’t forget to be a little jealous because not only was I not part of it, but I also hadn’t noticed it! I mean, of course, I didn’t think about sexuality. I knew I had to be with a woman because he was a man, but I knew I was attracted to boys. And I’ve been friendlier to girls, if that’s to be taken as a sign of homosexuality! It’s funny, hunting back there, when I was a kid I was very outgoing, rambunctious in a fun way. I felt like there was nothing stopping me as a child. And then, maybe around sixth grade, when I knew that maybe I was gay but hadn’t yet accepted it with myself, my lack of publicity became much more sober. I felt like I was holding back. And so, in middle school and most of college, my lack of publicity was definitely more reserved.
I guess the circle of relatives had no problems. Not at all. I’m so lucky that even when my grandparents were alive, they were so welcoming to me and all the ex-boyfriends they met. When I talked to my parents, I didn’t get nervous because I thought they wouldn’t accept me. I was just nervous because I felt like I had to verbally identify myself. Saying it out loud when it was still a time when I hadn’t said it out loud much before.
When I told them, I was in Philadelphia at the Max Brenner chocolate restaurant. We were sitting at the table and I told them I had to tell them anything. My mother’s answer was so long that I swear she had a monologue ready. !” Oh, we love you so much. We thought you’d say something soon. A holiday is coming up and we thought you might make it right then. [Laughs] Honestly, after about five or ten minutes of conversation, I was thinking, “Hey, this is my time!”
But I mean, [it was] a smart reaction from him and my father. He kept commenting, “Thank you for being so fair to us. I have to say that I am very proud of my father. Because, considering his background, and education, if he had followed in his parents’ footsteps, I would have been exiled from the family. a position to conform to me as I am. I’m proud of the ordinary, inclusive father he is.
What is the origin of your name? He’s Italian. My father’s ancestors are from Italy, but I identify more as Armenian than Italian. My mom is 100%. Growing up, we went to Armenian churches. I went to Armenian camps during the summer. We have a very intelligent relationship with his Armenian family, even more so than with my father.
Alright, let me ask you some completely random questions. If you had to gain 20 kilos. What food would you eat to gain weight? Nachos and smoothies.
What’s the most exotic thing you’ve ever eaten?When I was in China, I think I ate snake. And I think I ate frog legs. No, no, sorry, bird feet.
Favorite pair of shoes. Years ago, when cork was very common, I had a pair of cork high heels.
The boy’s first kiss? I don’t need my parents to know. In fact, you know what? You can put it in. He’s my neighbor of 5 years.
[Laughs] I guess a while ago?It didn’t go as planned. I was also about five years old at the time!
This is a vital detail! [We took a minute to compose ourselves] It’s a clever laugh, and the last time you cried?I have a picture of my grandmother and grandfather on my desk. She died last July. I have the picture framed with his obituaries and I look at it every day, and each and every one from time to time, it makes me a little emotional.
It all comes back to the family, doesn’t it?
For more information, phillysfoodtour. com.
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