TAMAQUA — Move over, online Italian chefs, there’s a new kid on the cooking show block.
Chef Alfonse “Alfi” Picone, owner of La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s restaurant, has gathered a large following by cooking his signature Italian dishes on Facebook.
To be sure, he’s not in a league with actor and master chef Stanley Tucci, whose “Tucci in Italy” show airs on National Geographic and is available on Disney Plus.
But for a one-man production in a small coal region town, the response to Picone’s videos has been phenomenal.
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Owner Alfi Picone props up his phone while making German stromboli at La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s in Tamaqua, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Picone films himself making various dishes for the restaurant’s Facebook account. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Owner Alfi Picone props up his phone while making German stromboli at La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s in Tamaqua, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Picone films himself making various dishes for the restaurant’s Facebook account. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
He boasts 48,000 followers on Facebook, and his frequent videos are viewed by tens of thousands of people with an interest in Italian food.
In posts at La Dolce Casa (DiMaggio’s) on Facebook, Picone cooks special dishes like Shepherd’s Pie Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza Rolls and Cannoli Stromboli. Typically, they garner from 10,000 to 50,000 views.
Picone’s Garlic Knot Pizza video went off the charts with more than 200,000 views, according to Facebook statistics.
Though he rarely talks while cooking, videos accompanied by brief explanations in text and music have become an innovative marketing tool.
A heart-shaped pizza accompanied by a version of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” turned out to be a Valentine’s Day favorite.
Along with elaborate lighting displays for Christmas and throughout the year, the Facebook videos are drawing diners from Allentown, Scranton and New Jersey, Picone says.
At a time when many restaurants are struggling, La Dolce Casa DiMaggio’s is frequently crowded and at times the line of customers waiting to be seated extends onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.
In addition to drawing customers, the videos have made Picone a personality. His image has become the face of La Dolce Casa, and a photo promo of him cooking occupies a place at each table.
“People say ‘we’ve been watching your videos,’ ” he says, “and now we want to meet you.’ ”
Living the dream
Emigrating from Sicily when he was 16, Picone got a job in an Italian restaurant in Lehighton.
He’s protective of the person’s identity, but a benefactor helped him open a small pizza shop on East Broad Street in Tamaqua. It had only six tables, but it was a start for fulfilling a dream he harbored as a young boy growing up in Palermo.
“I had a passion to cook and to own my own restaurant,” said Picone, 55, who will celebrate his 40th anniversary in the U.S. next year. “And both have come true.”
La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s opened at 16 West Broad St. in 2000. Picone retains the name DiMaggio’s in memory of the family from whom he bought his first restaurant.
In 2005, the restaurant was expanded to a renovated building next door. And in 2022, Picone opened an Italian bakery and market a few doors away.
Years of working seven days a week with no holidays, he says, have paid off. At the same time, he acknowledges it wasn’t always an easy road to follow.
“No. 1, you have to believe in yourself, and work hard,” Picone replied when asked the secret of his success. “Running a business is like growing a tree — you have to plant it, water it and take care of it.”
Making a mark
Making a video at La Dolce Casa is a pretty straightforward process.
There’s no director, camera operator or sound boom.
Picone simply places his cellphone on the pizzeria, or counter, where pizzas are prepared, and goes to work.
On a recent morning, while making what he calls a German Stromboli, Picone stretches a ball of dough into a large pizza shell.
On one half of the shell, he places a heaping mixture of ribeye cheesesteak, fried onions, hot peppers, American cheese and mozzarella.
Folding the other half of the shell on top, as if making a giant pierogi, he then carefully trims the edges. It goes into a 550-degree oven for about 10 minutes.
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Owner Alfi Picone prepares German stromboli for a Facebook video at La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s in Tamaqua, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Picone’s videos have attracted millions of views. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Owner Alfi Picone prepares German stromboli for a Facebook video at La Dolce Casa – DiMaggio’s in Tamaqua, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. Picone’s videos have attracted millions of views. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Removing it from the oven, he covers the shell with fresh mozzarella and drizzles sauce on top. Back into the oven for another five minutes, and it emerges golden brown.
Holding it up to the cellphone camera, Facebook viewers get to see the steam rising from the succulent dish.
Picone signs the post with smiley faces, a heart and a “Love You All” note.
As of Friday it had 7,500 views. Watch the video: https://www.facebook.com/reel/32465212913077312.
