We’ve just opened our second bottle of wine and are digging into our fourth or fifth tray of oysters (I’ve lost count). It’s the middle of the afternoon, mid-week, and we have an entire table outside of The Marshall Store to ourselves.

This is what happens when you let a chef navigate on his day off.

I’m in the hands of Fiorella chef Dante Cecchini, who has led me up to Tomales Bay by way of Highway 1 on his scooter, no less. Under his command, we’ve shuffled between the North Bay’s antique shops, stopped for coffee at a local roaster and eventually sampled farmstead cheese on the hills of Point Reyes.

The little knowledge I have of the restaurant industry gives the impression that chefs don’t know how to take a day off—or rather, they are rarely given the opportunity to do so.

This young chef and San Francisco Chronicle’s 2014 Rising Star is quite the opposite. A San Francisco native with Italian roots in North Beach, Dante unwinds after manning his Inner Richmond kitchen by restoring scooters or exploring his Hayes Valley ’hood with girlfriend, Niki.

Needless to say, it didn’t take much convincing to have him show me around his favorite North Bay haunts on a day off.

Dante has an unfiltered-hipster cool that makes him immediately affable and endearing. For someone so young, he is undeniably accomplished. He walks with an effortless confidence that strikes me as more humble than haughty, and will quickly dive into the complicated rivalry between Vespa and Lambretta with as much enthusiasm as he does when speaking about Italian food.

“I like the history [of something made in the ’60s], and knowing that these machines were built by hand using new technology—this stuff was state-of-the-art back then. Now [it’s] barely making it to the North Bay.”

It’s easy to forget that his food knowledge is vast and uncompromising, particularly when it comes to his appreciation for properly sourced ingredients. Like his now-defunct pop-up, Wander, in which diners were exposed to the creative impulse served on an agenda-less platform, Dante has gusto for life that’s contagious. It comes across in his plate, of course, but also in his personality.

Our day begins with a drive over the Golden Gate Bridge early one weekday morning. The first pit stop is at Equator Coffee in Mill Valley, where Dante shows off his newest addition, a classic and still working—despite being outfitted in all its original parts—1961 Lambretta Li 125, series 2.

I follow along in an SUV and meet back up with him at The Shop in Olema. Run by Liz Lavoie, the expertly curated antique retailer is off the beaten path and a favorite, albeit surprising, first stop for a chef with a sleeve tattoo.

Our antiquing adventure continues through Point Reyes Station for another local favorite, Vita. Dante picks up a print from Barloga Studios and chats up the saleswoman about an antique hat stretcher made of metal. His curiosity, it seems, knows no bounds.

While we momentarily appease our hunger at the popular Bovine Bakery, in which I can’t help but indulge in the day’s pumpkin-pecan-and-chocolate scone special, we head off in search of what we really came here for: oysters.

Dante pulls over to the side of the road in front of The Marshall Store in Marshall, located next to a graveyard of rusting boats alongside Tomales Bay. Today, the seaside “shack” is nearly empty—a rare sight for someone who has only ventured this way on a busy Saturday in summer. We have the outdoor patio to ourselves, and moments later, a waiter delivers heaping trays of both raw and cooked oysters, a smoked fish plate, New England–style clam chowder and crab legs. Dante has ordered for the crew and expertly selected a bottle of sparkling white to accompany the meal, which is perfectly refreshing on this warm spring day.

Dante has been manning the kitchen at Fiorella for just over a year and has added signature touches to the Italian joint that come from Nona herself. A rising star, he earned a solid reputation alongside Marlowe executive chef Jennifer Puccio and owner Anna Weinberg as chef de cuisine but was drawn to the simple executions of Fiorella’s classically Italian menu.

“It’s been a nice change from where I was previously cooking professionally to where I am now, because with really traditional Italian food, there are very few components to a dish, and it’s really rustic,” he says. “In the past, in many places where I’ve cooked — including my own pop-up — there are seven to 11 components to a dish. When there are only four to six—even less than that sometimes—there’s nowhere to hide.”

It makes sense that this Bay Area native is drawn to the simplicity of a place like The Marshall Store, where oysters fresh from the bay are often served raw and unfiltered, or elevated with just one or two ingredients. That enthusiasm for simplicity, where pure ingredients shine, is exactly what makes Dante’s menu at Fiorella a favorite among the Italian crowd.

My day ends with a bowl of carbonara with pancetta and a salsiccia pie (don’t judge) at Fiorella, where the open kitchen gives me a bird’s-eye view of the wood-fire oven and prep section. While Dante’s bike didn’t make it all the way (I later learn that he got stuck on the Golden Gate Bridge and was saved only when a good Samaritan threw his bike into his pickup), I see him in action a few days later for Saturday brunch.

Always cool, calm and collected, he sends out some unconventional favorites for the morning (think anything but eggs), including a crunchy, protein-packed cereal; coconut-cream-topped banana bread that’s aptly named monkey bread; and a brûléed grapefruit with vin santo yogurt.

When the opportunity arrives for Dante to get home to Hayes Valley for a night off, often a roasted chicken, some homemade stock for risotto or soup, and roasted veggies are his go-to dishes.

He tells me later that much of Fiorella’s menu is what he might whip up at home for himself (a home kitchen, he adds, that’s outfitted much like the one at the restaurant — think steel tabletops and all the kitchen gadgets).

“Cooking at Fiorella is kind of like cooking at home, with much more intent,” he says.

Still, on days off, the fast bikes, windy roads and cold beers of the North Bay often call.

“I barely have the time [to restore bikes or hang out with Niki] given what I do for a living,” he says. But when it’s a beautiful day, it’s hard for him to resist gathering up his gaggle of scooter friends — like the Ferrari brothers of the Hillside Supper Club — for a fast ride up to the North Bay.

His group of friends, mostly chefs whom he’s met through work or via meet-ups at SF Scooter Club, have a similar drive. Many are chefs or are in the restaurant industry and enjoy working with their hands. “Tony [Ferrari] and I met through the Volkswagen community,” Dante says about one of his day-off companions. “Turns out he’s an old-school Italian guy who likes to work with his hands, and he cooks [for a living].”

The Hit List

Shopping

Vita Collage, Point Reyes Station
The Shop, Olema
Coyuchi, Point Reyes Station
Flower Power, Point Reyes Station

Eats

Equator, Mill Valley
Bovine Bakery, Point Reyes Station
The Marshall Store, Marshall
Fiorella, San Francisco

The Ride

1961 Lambretta li 125, series 2

Tour

Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company