Cooking a delicious meal is like a piece of art. Watch this cheese bubble and brown and caramelize, the chef says, pointing to a blazing hot oven at Touch of Italy restaurant in Rehoboth Beach. Thick layers of soft, salty muenster cheese melt beautifully atop a giant piece of chicken parmesan. The chicken is sliced and pounded with precision, the house-made tomato sauce covering every inch. Chef Jaime Reyes adds a plate of spaghetti, a garnish of fresh herbs and a toss of fine parmesan cheese—now it’s a proper chicken parmigiana.

And as for the portion size— “It’s like a hubcap,” laughed Peter Scioli, company culinary director. Touch of Italy has been a consistent and authentic mainstay of Delaware’s “Culinary Coast.” “Everything’s handmade and made from scratch,” said Scioli, excited to showcase the cuisine, the building, the ingredients for a business that has grown over the past 15 years, from the first location in Lewes, with another also in Ocean City, Md.