Paul Tagliaferro Cullen was once the bassist for Bad Company, the English rock supergroup that rose to fame in the 1990s. After his touring days ended, he headed to Southern Delaware for a vacation – and never left.
“On my last night of vacation, I met this gorgeous blond at Irish Eyes in Lewes,” he laughs. “She asked me to dance – it was ‘Smooth’ by Santana. I moved here permanently 10 days later. I just knew,” he says. Paul and his wife, Bonnie, have now been married for 21 years.
After hanging up his bass, Paul picked up a chef’s knife. His love of food runs deep.
“I was the oldest of all my cousins in a big Italian family, so I grew up in my grandmother’s kitchen helping her,” he says. “Bonnie and I liked to have friends over for dinner. I love cooking for my chef friends,” he adds, name-dropping Delaware culinary heavy-hitters like Hari Cameron, Lion Gardner, and Kevin Reading.
In 2014, Paul launched his private chef business. He specializes in four-course Italian meals cooked in the client’s kitchen – and closes each one with a private bass concert. In the past decade, he’s served more than 16,000 guests.
That success led to another passion: wine.
Paul became a certified Level 2 sommelier, focusing on Italian wines. “The grapes are regional. I love the DOCG rules – they keep it clean and old-world. But what I really love is balancing food with wine.”
(DOCG stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, Italy’s highest level of quality and origin control.)
“I’ve been to Italy 18 times,” he says proudly.
He now hosts trips and cruises across Europe – especially Italy – where he’s built relationships with vineyard owners.
Six years ago, he earned his import license and launched a private label with his Italian friends.
Today, he has seven wines under his name: Rockin Rosé, Rockin Rosso, Lambrusco d’Emilia, Prosecco d’Trevìso, Moscato d’Asti, Barbera d’Asti, and Roero Arneis. Each features his signature rockstar guitar label and retails for $19.99.
You can find his wines in Delaware liquor stores and restaurants, or online in 43 states at paulcullenwines.com. Salute!
CRUSH QUESTIONS
Q: What’s your favorite part about living in Coastal Delaware?
Paul: “We have such great artists here. Incredible chefs and musicians.”
Q: Tell us something about yourself we wouldn’t otherwise know.
Paul: “I became a wedding officiant and married my assistant, Nina Carle! And I’m working on a cookbook called Party Like a Rockstar, set for fall 2026.” (What can’t he do?)
Q: By definition, a crush is a brief infatuation with something … what are you currently crushing on?
Paul: “Having downtime with my wife Bonnie. Just the two of us, on our screened-in porch with our two dogs, Brunello
and Caylee.”
