"It's a breath of fresh air to be here," Anthony said, referring to his new kitchen at Sergio's in the Hilton Hawaiian Village. "We're taking baby steps right now, but we're moving in the right direction," Anthony's approach to Italian cuisine is old-school textbook, but with a local twist.

"I worked under Donato (Loperfido of Donato's in Manoa Market Place) when he was at Sarento's for four years and learned a lot about traditional Italian dishes from him," Anthony said. "And George Gomes (Tri-Star Restaurants' corporate executive chef) taught me how to think like a chef, to think about acidity and texture.

"My cooking falls somewhere in between the two," he said, "which is classic Italian using fresh local ingredients."

A dish that epitomizes this, according to Anthony, is his homemade sausage served with Kahuku corn polenta and topped with Maui onions and roasted peppers, then drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar.

"The question I always ask myself is, 'How do you eat Italian with local ingredients?'" the 35-year-old chef said. "The answer is ultimately a personal challenge that I set for myself when I came over here two months ago."

While describing other menu changes that Anthony instituted since taking over the kitchen, restaurant general manager Kyle Matsumoto heaped praises on the well-seasoned chef.

"He's definitely a keeper," Matsumoto said. "He's got talent, he's got great energy and he's kept everything authentic."

This is a point that Sergio's owner George Vandeman has emphasized since opening the restaurant back in 2002.

"I want the food to taste the same as if I was eating at a restaurant in Tuscany," Vandeman said. "I want it to be fresh and I want it to taste like true Italian cuisine."

Anthony pointed out that he'll keep the menu authentic, but he'll also step it up in an effort to take the food from great to fabulous.

"Locals aren't going to want to come here just for lasagna and a plate of pasta," Anthony said. "So, we need to pick up the level of food."

The first place he started was with the list of appetizers, which now features a carpaccio alla Sergio ($12.50).

"It could be thin slices of fish, shellfish or filet," Matsumoto said. "And when we do the filet, we won't freeze it beforehand, like we used to do to in order to get the thin slices. It will be a little thicker, but it'll taste better."

Also consistent with Anthony's philosophy of "eating Italian using local products" are the Caesar salad ($10.95 per person for a minimum of two people), prepared with Maui-grown baby romaine lettuce, and the potato-crusted opakapaka served with pan-roasted Manila clams (market price).