Well, maybe not downstairs in the restaurant kitchen he made famous, but two or three nights a week he prepares dinner for himself and his wife, Simone, in their apartment over the store.
The house in Bedford Corners, a natural for entertaining, was perfect for them in many ways, and on weekends Dr. Spector, an accomplished cook, sometimes prepares dinner for 15 or more guests.
When she gets home from work, she prepares dinner for her children, ages 4 and 7. "I come home and I stand and I occasionally throw something into my mouth," she said.
A former sommelier and a self-taught chef, Tognotti prepares dinner for up to 100 guests at the designer's house, and also runs the company showroom and staff restaurants in Milan, which feed a constant stream of models, buyers and fashion editors.
Without breaking stride she tends to her kids, answers questions from Hicks called in from another room, checks in with Belmont about their prospective business deals, and prepares dinner for nine people (her family, Belmont, publicist Wallis Post and two reporters).
Once home and already bone tired, she prepares dinner for her family and spends time with her children who have been waiting to see her all day.
