I worked with Chef over 20 years ago at the Hyatt Kauai. 
He was an exuberant and hilarious  man full of stories of his adventures fresh from  asia 
He was a fastidious, passionate and serious Chef.
He revitalized Donderos restaurant and provided exquisite Italian cuisine all while developing  a dynamic culinary team.  

I provided him my Zuma vespa to use for transportation. He confidently straddled it the first time revved the engine proceeded rocket up the driveway and slide off the back of the seat onto the ground.  He said it was my fault because the seat was slippery!? Haha!
His time on that Vespa was very limited and soon replaced by his yellow 1979 Mercedes diesel. 

Chef Vincent you and i had our differences but in the end i have always valued my time spent with you. 
Best wishes to your daughter, wife and entire family. 
Mahalo
Gordon Jones
“ kitchen supervisor” grand Hyatt Kauai

Vincent was a teenager, the eldest of 5 siblings --all boys-- when our beloved Uncle Tony brought his wife and them, their five young sons, to the States from Sicily.  Our marvelous Dad, Peter Pecoraro -- Uncle Tony's brother -- would not live to see that blessed day. Nor would the boys’ mother live long beyond their arrival.  Our own Mom, Leanora DiSalvo Pecoraro, was a young widow having lost her Peter, the love of her life and father of their four daughters. She adored Uncle Tony's five sons, her nephews, and loved the fact that one of them was named Peter too. Vincent often told wonderful stories about her -- one of them, how she took him, in his late teens, to buy his first suit in a reputable men's shop in downtown Buffalo.  At age 17, one of Vincent's first U.S. jobs was to work in the convent garden where I was stationed -- one of Leanora and Peter's four daughters and a young Sister of St. Francis “Suora Francescana.” From humble beginnings, Vincent became an internationally renowned chef, as did his “next brother,” Rocky. In his retirement years, Vincent returned to Buffalo, New York with “Golf,” his cherished second wife and their daughter, Rita.
Despite his international acclaim, Vincent held his greatest “achievement” to be Family. He prized above all else his beloved daughters, sons and grandchildren.  In recent years he and my twin, Rose (almost 89) kept wonderful contact with each other. She and I had the privilege of visiting him on April 17 in ICU in the hospital where he lay in a coma.  There we were able to kiss him, pray over him and repeatedly tell him, our beloved cousin, that we loved him.  As we mourn deeply with his whole family, we cling to the belief that one day we will all be together again.

My beloved and late father and his father Vince 

May god shine the light with both of them together

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Vincent Pecoraro

August 24, 1941 – April 21, 2025

Perna, Dengler, Roberts Funeral Home

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