Luigi Risotto is the proprietor of Luigi's.
Biography
Luigi owns an Italian restaurant in Springfield, that serves average Italian food. Luigi often treats his customers rudely, insulting and belittling them; at times under his breath, at other times in a conversational tone, and sometimes shouting the slurs to the (unseen) chef Salvatore. Luigi seems to have some connections to the mafia. Local gangster Fat Tony is a frequent customer at his restaurant, despite the fact that he was one of the targets of Fat Tony's plan to get rid of all other food retailers except Marge's.[1] He does not actually speak Italian, only "fractured English" with a strong Italian accent, as did his parents. He says the phrase, "I guarantee," a lot.
Luigi may be an illegal immigrant because he disappeared during an immigration officer's introduction at Luigi's restaurant and took the citizenship exam with Apu.[2]
When Homer was a food critic, he gave Luigi's eatery a poor review; in retaliation, Luigi hired a friend to place a horse's head in Homer's bed (a reference to The Godfather). Homer subsequently ate the head and gave it a bad review.[3]
His one on-screen companion is Giuseppe the monkey.
He can play accordion.
In The Simpsons: Tapped Out (app for Android and iOS), Luigi has a slip of his tongue and reveals his true accent is British. He quickly realizes his mistake and returns to his Italian.
Behind the Laughter
Luigi is a parody of the "Italian pasta/pizza chef" stereotype, but seems to be aware of his status as a stock character. His surname is a reference to the Italian food risotto. He also seems to be a parody of Tony ("Lady and the Tramp")
Appearances
- Episode – "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song"
- Episode – "Lady Bouvier's Lover"
- Episode – "Homie the Clown"
- Episode – "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds"
- Episode – "Team Homer"
- Episode – "Much Apu About Nothing"
- Episode – "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson"
- Episode – "Lard of the Dance"
- Episode – "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"
- Episode – "A Tale of Two Springfields"
- Episode – "I Am Furious (Yellow)"
- THOH – "Treehouse of Horror XIV"
- Episode – "Large Marge"
- Episode – "The Wettest Stories Ever Told"
- Episode – "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play"
- Episode – "Homerazzi" (On a cover of an magazin)
- Episode – "Crook and Ladder"
- Episode – "The Last of the Red Hat Mamas"
- Episode – "Funeral for a Fiend"
- Episode – "Million Dollar Abie"
- Episode – "Love, Springfieldian Style"
- Episode – "The Real Housewives of Fat Tony"
- Episode – "The Daughter Also Rises"
- Episode – "Walking Big & Tall"
- Episode – "Bart's New Friend" (Billboard)
Video game – The Simpsons Game