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At Capitol Hill’s Osteria La Spiga, Sabrina Tinsley and Pietro Borghesi lovingly create dishes from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, where Borghesi grew up. Executive chef and co-owner with her husband, Tinsley was a college student in France when she realized how much she loved cooking. She met Borghesi in Austria and the two moved to his home in Italy to open a piadina shop, where they served the traditional sandwich to appreciative locals.

Tinsley and Borghesi moved to Seattle in 1997. A year later, they opened the original Osteria La Spiga on Broadway and Union Street; the couple relocated to a more spacious 12th Avenue location in 2006. Praised for her skill and creativity, Tinsley has been featured on television and radio programs and has been involved in various food forums and fund-raising events. On April 5, she participates in the fourth annual Food as Art fundraiser benefiting the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas at Bell Harbor International Conference Center, an event she has supported from its inception.

Q&A

How is food art?
I’m a creative person; my media is food. Similar to other artists, I work hard to delight the senses: the eyes, the nose and the sense of taste. Taste is a very overlooked area of life’s aesthetic experiences. For example, I am currently working on Bafotti, a Tagliolini dish from a very small village from the mountain region of Emilia-Romagna. It is very simple dish of thin homemade spaghetti baked in a rich meat broth, [with] Parmesan cheese and butter. As an artist, I am working to interpret this to give it my sense of uniqueness.

How does your cooking style reflect your personality or lifestyle?
I think my style, at home and at the restaurant, is one of simplicity. My home and restaurant were designed by my brother-in-law Francesco to have a welcoming feel; a relaxed, rustic, authentic simplicity like when my husband and I lived and entertained in Italy.

Every kitchen has its own sounds and music. What music do you play in your kitchen at work and at home?
At work before the guests arrive, one can hear anything from Madonna to heavy metal to hip-hop, and it changes from day to day. At home, we relax to Brazilian music by Sao Jorge and Carolina. Also, there’s lots of Italian music.

What are your favorite pieces of art?
The Kiss by Gustav Klimt really expresses my relationship with my husband. We’ve also framed a Kandinsky and several other prints, mostly by Klimt. I guess he’s my favorite artist, along with Salvador Dali.

Where do you think your cuisine—or rather art—might lead you?
I’m always trying to find unique traditions. I’m looking for the overlooked, almost forgotten cuisines of Italian rural village life. Trends come and go, but in the tiniest of traditions, one can find real art.

Sabrina Tinsley is one of 16 chefs participating in Food as Art, benefiting the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas, at Bell Harbor International Conference Center, April 5. Other chefs include Daisley Gordon from Campagne and Wayne Johnson from Andaluca. Tickets are $100–$150. Details: (800) 838-3006.