AS PANZA’S ITALIAN TURNS 88, NEW EXECUTIVE CHEF ELLIOTT VOGEL RETURNS TO THE SPOTLIGHT
As Panza’s celebrates its 88th year + the arrival of Elliott Vogel as their new Executive Chef, his first spring menu honors the restaurant’s Italian history, while his foraged, seasonal plates take center stage.
Interview : Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Nick Lee /for The Dishing
Location: Panza’s Restaurant, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
May 10, 2026
Panza’s Restaurant is sure to plan a blowout celebration for its 90th anniversary in 2028. But this year, the Panza family has something else to celebrate: The arrival of chef Elliott Vogel and the chance for Tony Panza, chef and co-owner with his brother Michael, to take a step back.
At 37-years old, the talented chef Elliott Vogel has held executive chef positions at Daley’s On Yates, Mezza Notte, Jack’s Oyster House, Siro’s and The Delaware where his specials and multi-course wine dinners often hinged on unexpected ingredients and deft culinary skill. Particularly known for putting bison and elk on his menus, Vogel is also a certified forager whose walks in the woods yield the chanterelles, morels, even puffball mushrooms, hand-foraged for seasonal plates. For his tastemaker interview last year, we chose to capture Vogel in the woods, not long after PBS filmed 16-hours of footage for a 2-minute clip in an episode this year. As competitive as he is meticulous, Vogel won over the judges at ‘Noah’s Chopped,’ a charity event in which he competed against veteran chef Danny Petrosino, former owner of Osteria Danny, and father-son chefs Noah and James Frese.
Vogel’s arrival ushers in a new chapter for Panza’s Restaurant with a clear intention to connect the past and the present. Panza's family recipes span the four generations since its opening in 1938 when matriarch "Ma" Panza's homestyle Italian Neapolitan cooking, and Panza’s weekly live jazz in The Starlight Room, drew people to its original location on Saratoga Lake until the 1980s. Panza’s relocated to the former Tradewinds/Paradiso space on Broadway in Saratoga in 2019.
Paradiso’s—built in 1964—has an extensive dining history, including its era as La Folie in the late 1970s, so the retro tumbled stone walls, water features, grotto, piano-side seating and Starlite Lounge where Michael Panza belts out Broadway tunes to a supper club in full swing feels straight out of West Hollywood: The Chateau Marmont of Saratoga Springs. The kitschiness goes so hard, it’s cool again. Primed to pique the curiosity of a culinary savvy Gen Z.
With a new spring menu in play, The Dishing dropped in to chat Chef Vogel about joining the Panza’s team.
Chef, I know you stepped into culinary side of healthcare last year partly driven by your belief that good, fresh ingredients are medicine. What drew you back to an iconic restaurant like Panza’s?
The white tablecloths, rich history and long line of strong Panza’s family chefs really drew me in. I enjoy the theatrics and methodical dance of a well-seasoned venue. Panza’s has a stable base and an entire generation of patrons hooked on their family recipes! Creating, expanding and refining is what I do. And celebrating 88 years in business is extremely rare.Honestly, being offered this position is huge for me and something I have longed for. I will protect this castle and lead as best I can.
Given the history of Panza’s dishes and your love of lighter, fresh twists on classics, how will you integrate the past and present?
Our goals are—as most stable business are— to protect, honor and expand. The Timeless Classics are really important to the kitchen team and venue. Seeing a dining room loaded with respectable diners ordering Panza’s classics should make any chef drool. The business is great and clientele are very open to delicious food—no shock there!
Nearly 68% of the menu has changed. Our current guests have been receiving the new items very well. It’s simple: You have to enjoy cooking in order for your patrons to enjoy eating. We live through food as chefs. We put on a really nice show and are happy to do it. I’m almost always featuring a locally-foraged ingredient from my walks. I generally don’t play around with the food too much, but I try to make it fun to eat and pretty to look at. My vision is always the same: cook your heart out. Respect yourself and others, honor the food and protect the craft. I highly recommend foraging. You just have to be careful, read, listen and stay humble.
We asked about dishes that illustrate the linkage of Panza’s legacy with your more modern focus. What did you choose?
I foraged local fiddleheads which went into house-made ricotta cavatelli with wilted ramps, n’duja, and Reggiano. From Panza’s classics, I made Andrew’s Sausage Parmesan with peppers and onions, a recipe by Chef Tony’s father. And then classic Kilcoyne Farms Delmonico steak, koji and whiskey-aged, with ramp salmoriglio.
Panza’s is traditional fine dining Italian with established regulars. At just 37-years old, you’re young but experienced chef and you also worked at another venerable institution, Jack’s Oyster House in Albany. How do you feel about leading Panza’s into its ninth decade?
Leading the Panza’s Team alongside Chef Tony Panza and Michael Panza is a gift. They have accepted me as I am, and I have accepted them as they are. We make a great team together. Every day we feature a new set of dishes, lots of seasonal items. Always learning and teaching. Chef Tony can dance with the best of us; a “smooth operator” for certain. I am learning more about the business through him. This business is his life as it has been mine. We relate in many ways and both share a similar personality in the kitchen. And Michael has every skill I wish I had: musical talents, the ability to formally dress well, FOH expertise and an outgoing personality.
It’s good to see you here, Chef. I’ve interviewed you in so many places and this seems a great fit—plus you look so happy! Thanks again for meeting with us.