Francis Ford Coppola’s Favorite Dishes at Palazzo Margherita

Francis Ford Coppola has an uncanny knack for transforming his passions into everything we crave. Whether on the big screen as the five-time Academy Award-winning director of The Godfather trilogy among other seminal films, or as a vintner, restaurateur, and producer of Italian pantry essentials, Coppola excels at creating unforgettable experiences and products. His family and Italian heritage are at the forefront of all he does, including buying Palazzo Margherita in 2004 and restoring the property into his private home and luxury hotel. Located in Bernalda, Italy, it's the birthplace of his paternal grandfather, Agostino Coppola.

This remote town in the Basilicata region of southern Italy borders Calabria and Puglia. For someone who has traveled the world over, Coppola's affinity for this land is palpable. "When you see Basilicata from the sky, you see fields, vineyards, and beautiful landscapes. You see the earth as it should have been," he says.

Palazzo Margherita is Coppola's culinary interpretation of his view from the plane. Its historical gardens include jasmine, wisteria, and citrus trees permeating the air. There are also organically grown herbs and seasonal vegetables like aubergine (eggplant), zucchini, tomatoes, and peperone crusco di Senise IGP, a native pepper often dried and crushed into a powder for seasoning.

The hotel’s kitchen menu changes daily, influenced by the recipes Coppola grew up with, along with his favorite traditional southern Italian dishes using ingredients from the region and his garden. Dining options for guests at Palazza Margherita include an eat-in kitchen where cooking classes are taught; the Cinecittà Bar an informal café and pizzeria; the opulent Salon, which converts to a cinema; and the garden for a family-style Italian grigliata (barbeque).

When he visits, which was at least once a year before the pandemic, Coppola likes having a bowl of Crapiata alla Bernaldese, the summer soup of ancient peasants. It's made with a mix of legumes and grains like fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, and wheat.

In a nod to his mother's Neapolitan roots, the Palazzo serves wood-fired pizzas. Coppola’s favorite slice? The Monte Vulture with toppings of mozzarella fior di latte, spicy Lucanian salami, Champignon mushrooms, ricotta cheese, and organic artichokes and organic dry tomatoes.

A dish he occasionally requests that's not on the menu is Cappuzzelle al Forno, a plated lamb's head. "He's surprised people don't want to taste it," says Rosella De Filippo, general manager of Palazzo Margherita. It's cooked with potatoes, parsley, garlic, and lampascioni, the bulb of a tassel hyacinth, a common wildflower of southern Italy. Lampascioni was a part of the Coppola family Italian table during his childhood and one constant on the Palazzo Margherita menu.

In addition to wining and dining, Coppola enjoys serenading hotel guests in the garden with works from Puccini or Verdi's La Traviata. He also fancies playing the Italian card game Scopa.