The word "vivande" had not been used extensively in the Italian language since the 14th century until Carlo Middione chose it for his business more than 25 years ago. From the Latin viva, or life, the word means prepared food.

Known best for its unique artisanal cooking, superior quality ingredients and products, Vivande has built an enviable reputation as a destination eating place, a one-of-a-kind shopping experience, and a tourist attraction located in the residential heart of San Francisco’s Upper Fillmore District.

The gastronomia who prepares fresh prepared foods for people to take home pre-dates the restaurant model in Europe. Typically, this was "slow food" cooking, and it was for this type of cooking that Vivande was first born. Within six months the Diner's Club magazine ranked Vivande in San Francisco "among the ultimate delis of the world", along with Peck's in Milan, Fauchon in Paris, and Dallmayr in Munich; bringing acclaim to San Francisco and establishing Vivande as a tourist destination.

Vivande (25 years ago) was the first San Francisco restaurant to exclusively use Italian extra virgin olive oil in its own kitchen. We make fresh pasta daily from durum, semolina flours, and egg. We grind, season, and hand stuff our own fresh pork fennel sausage – no preservatives. We make all our fresh pastries and traditional Italian cookies and baked savories right in Vivande’s ovens. We even candy our own orange and lemon peel, and we squeeze fresh lemons by hand for our salad dressings and desserts so as not to avoid the bitter taste of the white pith under the zest.

In 1998 Vivande received the prestigious L’Insegna del Ristorante Italiano from the Italian government. This exclusive designation distinguishes Vivande as a true Italian restaurant "abroad" using authentic Italian foods, products, and recipes to present a classic Italian style of eating. Vivande was one of only 18 restaurants in the U.S. to receive the award that year, and the only one in San Francisco. In 2004 Vivande was included in a special Zagat survey of America’s top 1,800 Italian restaurants.

Born in Buffalo, New York, of a long line of Sicilian restaurateurs and professional cooks, by popular demand Carlo Middione became a vocational cooking instructor 30 years ago in mid life. He designed and taught the first Italian cooking curriculum for the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco in the late 1970s. He and his wife, Lisa, led many professional cooking tour groups to visit cooking programs in Italy, France, and England. They observed foodways and trends in Europe and New York. The quality for which Vivande has become known is the product of Carlo's strong technical skill and food knowledge.