John Joseph Poggetti, Partner Is Rosellini's, `Genius' With Food

John Joseph Poggetti, 70, partner with Victor Rosellini in Rosellini's Six-10 and Four-10 restaurants, died Friday at Veteran's Hospital.

Rosellini, his brother-in-law, said Mr. Poggetti was a genius with food, continually devising new recipes and improving old ones he had learned as a boy in San Francisco. Even more remarkable, said Rosellini, was Mr. Poggetti's willingness to share his recipes with others.

``He was a great friend,'' said Rosellini, ``very caring, very generous, and very helpful. He wasn't afraid to share a recipe with anyone. I think he was just dedicated to the preparation of food.''

Mr. Poggetti's artistry in cooking was so refined he could keep in his head every detail about an entire evening's work as a chef.

``He'd do it all by memory,'' said Rosellini. ``He knew exactly when every dinner would be ready. Sometimes we had as many as 250 dinners going at once, and he knew exactly where each one was, who ordered it and when it would be ready.''

Mr. Poggetti was born April 27, 1920, in San Francisco. He attended schools in San Francisco, and went to work in the restaurant business at the age of 14 at Amelio's Restaurant in San Francisco.

In 1941, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the South Pacific with the 41st Infantry Division until 1945. ``He wanted to fight,'' said Rosellini, ``but they wanted him to cook.'' Mr. Poggetti did both.

After his Army service, Mr. Poggetti returned to San Francisco and again worked at Amelio's, and met Rosellini, who was then managing a club, Bimbo's 365 Club.

In 1950, the two men moved to Seattle, and opened Victor Rosellini's Six-10 Restaurant at Sixth and Pine. The same year, Mr. Poggetti married Rosellini's sister Marie.

The partnership between Mr. Poggetti and Victor Rosellini lasted until 1975, when Mr. Poggetti retired and became a consultant to the new Four-10 Restaurant.

Mr. Poggetti was a member of several professional organizations, including the Pacific Northwest Chefs Association, the National Restaurant Association and the Washington State Restaurant Association.

Visitation at the Columbia Funeral Home has been scheduled for tomorrow Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon. A funeral Mass will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 3218 W. Barrett St., Seattle.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Poggetti is survived by a daughter, Joanne Black, of Seattle, and by sisters Lily Cuneo of San Francisco and Kay Offenbeck of Santa Rosa, Calif.