They've all eaten food prepared by Chef Rudy Bilotti, Jr., who's currently dishing out delicious home-style meals at Scott's Armory Inn on Manor Road.

The boy from Bensonhurst got his start working for his mother's catering company at the age of 13, frying rice balls and working on decorative trays. After studying business at Kingsboro Community College, he knew his heart was in the kitchen, so he enrolled at New York City Technical College and earned a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

"It taught me how to be more professional," Bilotti says, "and it taught me that I didn't know anything about the restaurant business except good wholesome southern Italian cooking."

Hired right out of school, he put his mother's recipes aside and spent the next few years working in some of Manhattan's top kitchens: The Waldorf Astoria, Essex House, Café des Artistes. There he cooked for some of the most famous names of the 80s and 90s, from Presidents to pop stars. The biggest thrill-getting to not only feed but meet his favorite actor.

"At Café desArtistes was the first time I ever approached a celebrity, and his name..." he pauses dramatically, "...was Al Pacino! He signed the menu for me. I told him I was the sous chef and he said 'Great job, I love your food' and it put a smile on my face because he was one of my idols."

After a successful run in Manhattan, Bilotti was ready to shift his focus from food to family. "I wanted to have fun with my children," he says, "Watch them grow." The shift took him from Brooklyn to Staten Island, where he worked in a few Italian restaurants before settling at Scott's Armory Inn eight years ago. In that time, the Manor Road eatery has grown from a single dining room to popular party venue with three banquet rooms and an outdoor café. His crew of five feeds roughly 150 people on Friday and Saturday nights while also hosting six to eight parties per weekend.

When crafting the menu, he says he focused on what area diners are most interested in - a style of cooking he calls "Italian / Steak." Pasta dishes are popular, along with meat entrees, particularly the rib-eye. Another signature staple: a grilled shrimp strawberry salad served with a balsamic vinaigrette. But what keeps his menu fresh, he says, are the nightly specials. Diners can return time and again and always find something new.

It may be called Scott's Armory Inn, but Bilotti leaves the drill sergeant style of leadership to the military professionals at the real Armory across the street. Instead, he prefers a more laidback kitchen. "My Gordon Ramsay days are over," he laughs. "Once I ran kitchens like Mussolini. Now I blast the radio and have fun. I play air guitar!'"

Fun aside, the 48-year-old says the life of a chef can be grueling. "It put a big burden on my body, physically and mentally," he says. "Sort of like a baseball player in his early 40s."

But he isn't hanging up his hat just yet. He's scaled down his presence to part-time, leaving the bulk of the week in the hands of his highly praised Sous Chef Arturo Lopez. He continues to act as a consultant on menu items and is also doing some catering on the side, where he specializes in the wholesome Southern Italian cooking he learned at his mother's side. "She was an unbelievable cook," he brags.

His advice for home cooks? Keep it simple. "I think today cooking has gotten too complicated. People watch too many cooking shows. They've got foams now and all that," he says, shaking his head. "Use wholesome ingredients. Whatever grows out of your ground, that's what you use."

Speaking of simple, wholesome food, he says his favorite thing to cook is still Sunday dinner for his family. "A nice pot of sauce with bracciole, fried meatballs, raviolis or a nice plate of linguini, fresh bread, fresh cheese, and a nice glass of wine. That's20it! Still my favorite!"

The Brooklyn-born Bilotti is no longer an Islander. He moved to the Garden State five years ago - "I did that migration," he laughs - but he still loves cooking for the people of his adopted borough.

"Staten Island is a hard-working, middle-class borough with a mix of different ethnic backgrounds. They like their pizza. They love their steak and potatoes. And they haven't forgotten what they grew up on."

And then, with maybe just a hint of the major-leaguer giving a final wave from the mound, he adds, "It's been a pleasure cooking for them."

Scott's Armory Inn, 316 Manor Rd., Staten Island, NY 10314

718.816.0733.