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For Palatine man, cooking is a labor of love, fun

You've heard of football tailgates, but how about this? Guy Jacobucci, our cook of the week from Palatine, served up his 16th tailgate breakfast to a group of friends in May for the Indy 500.

Guy did all the cooking, as he does every year, serving up steak, eggs and sausage, plus organizing a full bar.

"The first year, I went as a guest but left as a 'co-captain' of planning," Guy said.

It isn't too surprising Guy was recruited for the task, considering his background. Guy grew up in an Italian home where his stay-at-home mom considered it her job to feed her family well.

Because they loved to eat, Guy and his brother spent a lot of time in the kitchen and, according to their mother, that was how they became better cooks than their sisters.

When Guy went to college, he cooked for his roommates while studying marketing and business. Then, even though he vowed he would never work as a chef, he eventually broke that promise: He earned a culinary degree and opened a restaurant.

"I didn't want to ever have that coulda, woulda, shoulda feeling, " Guy said.

His restaurant was only open a few years, but he doesn't regret the decision.

"I cook more now than I did at the restaurant," he said. And that is the way he likes it.

Guy now works in the corporate world and loves cooking for clients from around the country. At Christmas, he follows a spreadsheet he devised to help him make and deliver more than 1,500 Christmas cookies.

"It's a labor of love," he said. "My clients really appreciate them."

Every year he hosts a large party either in the summer or at Christmas. He uses a caterer for some parts, but the rest is home-cooked.

At Thanksgiving, he hosts 35 friends and family. They bring the sides; Guy cooks the turkey and, because he is Italian, the lasagna.

Using many family recipes he has tweaked, Guy loves cooking Italian but also is fond of grilling out, baking stuffed tenderloin and making soup. "I could eat soup any day of the week," he said. "I love doing traditional comfort foods. I'm more of a traditional cook."

Dismissing any new or experimental techniques, the closest Guy comes to high tech in the kitchen is using his beloved Cuisinart.

"It's probably my favorite tool in the kitchen. Press a button and you're done; it's just so much quicker," he said.

One of his favorite hobbies is grocery shopping. "I love searching out different grocery stores," he said.

Guy brings the groceries home to a gourmet kitchen outfitted with a six-burner Wolf stove.

His only regret? "I made a mistake with the kitchen, though. ... I didn't do two dishwashers," he jokes.

Linguine Salad

Sausage Bread

Gnocchi

Carrot Cake

  Pasta prepared by Cook of the Week Guy Jacobucci of Palatine. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Carrot cake by Cook of the Week Guy Jacobucci of Palatine. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Cook of the Week Guy Jacobucci of Palatine first learned to cook from his mother. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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