ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ
ANDRÉ CHIANG
MICHAEL WILSON
JORDAN KAHN
PAUL BOCUSE
REIF OTHMAN
YOSHIHIRO NARISAWA
ANDREAS CAMINADA
“everyday I work in search of pure tastes and Monviso is clearly the superior mineral water choice for me”
Chef Alfredo Russo
THE TASTE OF PURITY CAPTURED IN A BOTTLE!
SMOKED
CharityStars is the international platform specialising in fundraising through digital auctions promoted in collaboration with celebrities and large companies.
All the proceeds are donated to charity. A different way of raising awareness about the many charitable causes worldwide.
While providing a fine atmosphere of an outdoor vivid lounge and stunning interiors, Jean-Georges Dubai o ers its guests the chance to enjoy multiple evenings with live entertainment, a Friday brunch with an exquisite menu created by 2 Michelin Star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten paired with impeccable service. The restaurant presents a warm ambiance that captures Dubai’s a nity throughout the day to uphold a late night.
JG Dubai is a preferred venue for many celebrities who have chosen it as a trendy destination to celebrate their events or simply to enjoy the exquisite dishes and service. Guests who have joined us in the past include key members of royal families in the UAE as well as international names such as Russell James, Franca Sozzani, Nargis Fakhri, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Dwight Yorke, and Christian Louboutin.
Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai Book at +971 4 343 6118 info@jean-georges-dubai.com | www.jean-georges-dubai.com
Culinary Arts can give new life to children...
we make it our mission to identify talented, underprivileged children with culinary ambitions and provide opportunities that otherwise would have been beyond their reach…
Grant MacPherson
WO’GOA Foundation Ambassador
An inspirer, innovator and perfectionist - Grant encompasses all the qualities that deserving children can glean from a role model!
partnered with SKD ACADEMY the culinary institute in the Philippines
The Pearl Martin Benn - Sepia, Sydney, Australia
Editor
Feature Editor
Contributors
Photography
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Alfredo Russo
Maria Lourdes
Laura Pedrazzoli
Elisabete Ferreira
Michael Hepworth
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Photography Consultant
Creative Design Studio
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ALFREDO RUSSO
TOMATOE TART WITH MOZZARELLA, EGGPLANT & FRESH BASIL
THE FRANKLIN BY ALFREDO RUSSO - KNIGHTSBRIDGE, LONDON
It’s all Italian... a journey of flavors from
Italy
& around the World!
Nature is his menu… Norbert Niederkofler’s cuisine takes an ethical challenge, which is reflected in the extreme simplicity of his dishes. His cuisine is ‘simple, clean, and clear’ - this means that the ethical value of the dish is not pursued at the expenses of aesthetics.
Marzia Varvaglione and her family’s passion and love for their land… Four generations of the Varvaglione family winery.
Silvia Baracchi the Ambassadress of Tuscan cuisine who proudly declares herself “Etruscan”. A chef out of passion, Gaetano Trovato creates a contemporary cuisine inspired by the Mediterranean at Arnolfo.
Anthony Genovese brings Italian fine dining into a new era. The mix of tradition and innovation of regional and Italian traditional cooking is Giovanni Grasso’s culinary masterpieces at La Credenza. Marco Stabile, the chef from Pontedera, who quickly rose to prominence in Italy with Ora d´Aria. Daniele Usai blends the best raw materials with flair, enhancing the local flavors with unique and personal touches. and Andrea Migliaccio’s idea of cuisine is inspired by clear and simple principles: innovation and tradition, with an emphasis on Mediterranean flavours.
Mirko Fassari at The Franklin by Alfredo Russo, is a combination of simplicity, sophistication and quality seasonal ingredients. And finally to the East with Alessandro Cozzolino and his endless passion for gastronomy at Grissini at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. The last stop is Tokyo to catch up with Giuseppe Fornillo with his Italian touch at the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.
Buon appetito!
Alfredo Russo
EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN
CAKE OF EGGPLANT WITH SEMI DRY TOMATO MOZARELLA AND BASIL
A dish inspired by Naples’ perfumes, Francesco Apreda’s hometown. The use of ingredients that in their shapes and colors represent a “pizza”, symbol of Francesco’s beloved Naples.
The “baccalà” is cooked in extra virgin olive oil that resembles the “mozzarella”, the vegetable charcoal bread waffle resembles the pizza border, the red comes from the confit tomatoes, and the baccalà tomato cream and red onions cooked in the red wine vinegar.
It’s a game of colors and flavors which is completed with Francesco’s blend of spices - a “sabbia salata” blend, dedicated to Naples and made with Vesuvian ingredients. An explosion of flavors.
ALFREDO RUSSO
THE FRANKLIN BY ALFREDO RUSSO
NORBERT NIEDERKOFLER
NATURE DECIDES THE MENU!
Born in Luttago, a small town right in the heart of the Dolomites. Norbert Niederkofler’s culinary roots can be traced back to his father in the Valle Aurina, a small valley in the province of Bolzano, where he developed a love of home cooking using local quality products. His parents owned a hotel for the skiers in winter and climbers in summer, and he was always exploring the outdoors.
At 18, Norbert had a great goal in mind, he wanted to see the world. His second goal was much more of a moderate one – He wanted to be a chef. With a lot of discipline, he was able to combine both his wishes. He experienced the ups and downs and his success is the result of clear ideas and goals, and the fact that he always questions himself and tries to remain humble. Today, he earns his money by doing what he loves to do, since his profession is his hobby and his philosophy of life.
After finishing his studies at the culinary college in Tegernsee, Germany, Norbert honed his culinary skills in London, Zurich and Milan, before arriving in Munich to work with Eckart Witzigmann, his greatest mentor. Eckart taught him how to respect nature and its produce to achieve culinary perfection. Seven years later, he travelled to New York where he learnt the secrets of innovation under restaurateur David Bouley.
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
In 1993, Norbert returned home to work at the Castel Colz in La Villa for a year, before being offered the chance to run the kitchen at Hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano, at the base of the Dolomite Mountains. He eventually decided to dedicate a small part of the restaurant to the local mountain range, refused to use ingredients produced outside of the Dolomites and named the restaurant St. Hubertus. In 2000 the restaurant won its first Michelin star, which eventually led to a second star in 2007 and in 2017, it achieved the very highest accolade, receiving the third star for its incredible food and service.
Norbert is a sincere and autochthonous delegate of his kitchen, and the topics he is interested in are so many and go beyond the topic of carrots or potatoes or a dish, both in taste and appearance. His family has inspired his decisions in the culinary world.
His approach to running a kitchen and managing his team of chefs is unique. He prefers to let them discover their own talents and styles of cooking, encouraging original thinking and staying away from rigorously implemented rules. ‘I am like a football manager in the kitchen, I know what I’m looking for, and my job is to help guide the team to the same conclusion.’
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
“I am an individual. Just like you. I have strengths and weaknesses. Just like all of us. Being real - I do not always succeed. Do you?”
“But when I succeed in letting people experience the familiar smell and taste of my homeland, I am simply happy.”
His cuisine takes an ethical challenge, which is reflected in the extreme simplicity of his dishes. His cuisine is ‘simple, clean, and clear’ - this means that the ethical value of the dish is not pursued at the expenses of aesthetics. Quite the contrary, the chef tells a story through such simplicity in taste, of which local produces are the main characters.
EX.IT catches up with Norbert Niederkofler…
It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up… how you found your way into the culinary world to become one of the most sought-after Chef!
I liked always the place, the Kitchen is the warmest - most social place in the house and there is always something to eat, talk and discuss with people. This was the first impact in my parent’s hotel. From there everything started. Losing my father at the age of 16 was tough and so I decided that this is the best and easiest way to travel the world –to see new countries and learn lots about different cultures.
RAVIOLI, FORMAGGIO DI MALGA, CRISPINO E BRODO DI GALLINA
PHOTO © ALEX MOLING
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
Your cuisine is simple, clean which is inspired by the season and nature…
This is very easy - you just have to listen, follow and accept what nature give you in that particular moment. All what works together in nature works together on the plate. Than you have to use all the technics to work the most beautiful and freshest products as natural as possible on the plate.
Your previous experience which helped to form who you are as a chef today…
Traveling has been the best teacher of life. And the respect for other cultures and especially for nature. But one of the most important way of understanding what to do and how to stay curious as a child - Talking to guests and opinion leaders. After reflecting taking your decision and follow your way.
Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a new dish...
We start from the raw material. So nature decides what we put on the menu. Using only products form the current season or products we prepared in summer for winter. So there are 3 very important points for us. The seasonal products, Raw material from the territory and NO WASTE - these are the 3 important goals in our kitchen.
Also the process to create new dishes is changed. Before we had an idea and we started to look for the ingredients and flew them in from all over the world. Now we have to wait with what nature gives us and then we build the recipes around.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
I received a “classic education” about food. For me, only if you know the classic style you can work in a modern – sustainable and respectful way.
Your greatest influence in the kitchen…
Respect for raw material and the hard work of producers who are behind the products. We try to bring lots of the Asian Style special Japanese: way of thinking and acting in our daily work. So respect for nature – products and produces.
The chef is ‘naked’ and only has simple flavours to express himself with. Thus, his dishes are not allowed to contain any tricks, deceptions, or mistakes. Therefore, in a perfect balance, simplicity expresses liberty, and liberty relies on responsibility, human value, respect of time and nature.
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
“I am an individual. Just like you. I have strengths and weaknesses. Just like all of us. Being real - I do not always succeed. Do you?”
Norbert Niederkofler
Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredient that you weren’t able to master…
We talk to our farmers, and to old people about what they used and how to use products. This is the most interesting part in our daily work and we realize that we leave the normal kitchen work and we go into the culture of our territory.
As I said, first of all the Nature, which decides what will be on the menu. And the Time, Working in this particular way, you learn how to deal with it. Nature dictates the rules.
It is very difficult not being able to use products. Maybe we have to find new ways or new methods of working. Or check how other cultures use them, maybe with fermentation, with special cooking or preserving them in a different way.
Special cooking techniques…
We use all the techniques you can find. Technique should help to bring products as natural as possible on the plate. Nature first and technique helps.
“The variety lies in the mix of the simplicity,”
Norbert Niederkofler
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
This is the beginning – not the end. I have one 7 year old son and there is one more coming in August, so there is lots to learn from them. And should have to learn to deal with lots of questions. So let’s move on.
What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?
I tried always to do my way. Trends come and go. The classic base stays always and on a solid base you can build.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
Actually…I think, we are not doctors and we do not save lives. We have to say thank you to our Idols –Haeberlin, Troigros, Witzigmann, Marchese, David Bouley and lots of other more. They opened up the way for us and so we could go on with the work, to achieve the position we are today. I think we should have lots of respect for our clients, and stay more in the kitchen to say hallo to them. In the end it is they who allow us to do our job.
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
ENROSADIRA - IL ROSSO DELLE DOLOMITI
PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
GNOCCHI DI RAPA ROSSA PHOTO © DANIEL TÖCHTERLE
SILVIA BARACCHI AMBASSADRESS OF TUSCAN CUISINE
Born in Perugia and raised in the heart of Cortona, Silvia Baracchi proudly declares herself “Etruscan”.
From a family of restaurateurs she has inherited passion for good food, the sensitivity to the traditions and the art of hospitality, all-the-while with the positive energy of Il Falconiere inspiring her culinary style day by day.
Boasting of several culinary experiences with chefs from around the world that have allowed her to share the cuisine of Cortona with the world. For many years she worked with the Executive Chef Richard Titi, and shares a profound harmony and a constant evolution. Consistency is the concept that embraces her kitchen.
Her Tuscan cuisine is made with great ingredients respecting the tradition, the seasons and with a touch of new presentation. With a lot of exchanging experiences with chefs from all over the world who are enriched with her know-how. Her cooking courses takes the name from a friend Francis Mayes’ book - “Cooking Under The Tuscan Sun”, participants arrive to learn the secrets of Tuscan traditions . Her cookery school has increased the passion for food and provides Tuscan lovers with the skills they need to translate this love into beautiful and imaginative cuisine.
SILVIA
INSALATA DI CAVOLO ROSSO
EX.IT catches up with Silvia Baracchi...
It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking…
Passion....this is the most important thing for a chef, the beginning and the end, the Alfa and the Omega of our extraordinary work. First of all you must have passion inside yourself. After that there are many components: your heritage, right opportunities, having an open mind and the famous sliding doors!
Your cuisine inspired by the territory, fresh and quality ingredients, a composition of flavours - how do you bring this balance on a plate?
My
cuisine is deeply immersed in my territory, here I can find the best ingredients and the deepest inspiration...
The right balance is our goal and the best way to achieve it, is to follow the season and be able to capture the greatest fragrant flavors and scents.
The Tuscan cuisine is itself very rich of definitive aromas, great dishes evergreen, but of course is actually important to balance tradition with contemporary trend.
PHOTO © RICCARDO MELILLO
Your previous experience which helped you as a chef today…
I grew up in a family who owned a traditional restaurant: good taste for food, passion to cook and a daily wish to share with friends and guests, our family specialties. When you breathe the air, the sounds, the lifestyle of this world, it remains deeply in your soul…..so it was so natural for me to decide to start with a new adventure: my own restaurant, a place to express and share my personal vision and my passion for food... I opened Il Falconiere by transforming my husband’s family Villa in the most glamorous restaurant of the area.
Your culinary philosophy, and the process of creating a new dish...
The changing of seasons push you in a sort of delirium, new ingredients all around, new scents. You wish fresh and light recipes in spring; a summer with the power of the most savory ingredients, Autumn instead is time to go forward the most authentic Tuscan cuisine rich of wild game, truffle, mushrooms with flavorful recipes, very rich and tasty; in winter warm recipes that are good to hit your stomach and soul. In few words: cook what you mostly love! Don’t take care of trends, but go ahead with your personal feeling!
Produce, Creativity or Technique...
They go all together. I analyze my daily feelings, and the pleasure to create. I must have time to read into myself.
Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients…
I’m a food hunter, I like experiencing and understanding. I love to exalt the many extraordinary ingredients of my land: Cortona and its surroundings. The very heart of beautiful Tuscany!
There are so many good products coming from local farmers and artisans that I love to use in my kitchen and explain later at the restaurant to my Guests. The true 0 km is where my philosophy begins.
I like so much using wild game in season to create extraordinary recipes totally different by the normal scheme, this meat for sure is the most natural and healthy, very tasty and not ordinary. I like the Chianina our local beef, famous all over the world for the high quality, using different cuts and its giblets: liver, tripe, sweetbreads, tongue etc. Vegetables are very important as well, I have my vegetable garden where the freshness of the products makes the difference. Aromatic herbs and spices are also unmissable on my cuisine.
MEZZEMANICHE RIPIENE
CIPOLLE RIPIENE
SILVIA
GAMBERO
FILETTO DI MANZO CON COMPOSTA DI SCALOGNO
Special cooking techniques…
I have three restaurants with different menus. In each one I like using a different and personalized cooking style. The technique must follow your recipes and not vice versa. At the Michelin starred restaurant Il Falconiere we use different techniques to make every dish light, healthy but at the same very tasty, we use to marinate some meats and fish, low temperature cooking, steaming or mixing cooking techniques, is often the best solution.
My second restaurant is Locanda del Molino: It is a traditional restaurant where we use a wooden oven and a fireplace to cook, important for the traditional Tuscan recipes.
At Bottega Baracchi at the end, a sort of fusion bistro, wine bar and contemporary restaurant, we are open to traditional and innovative techniques.
NODINI DI CAPRIOLO
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
Before to do something else is better to be a Chef! Possibility to meet many people, to express your thoughts, travel all around the world to promote and show your cuisine. All this is very exciting and recharging you a lot.
What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?
You stay on the top if you work every day with passion, constancy and sacrifice. And you cannot work just to stay at the top, but because you like it.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
Good question! Definitely I recommend to young chefs to think a lot! This work isn’t just glamour, but it is very heavy, sometime we must forget about family, friends and free time. But if they have a deep passion, everything will be easier and the satisfaction you receive every day the best award!
PERE AL VINO ROSSO
GAETANO TROVATO
A CHEF OUT OF PASSION
Born in Sicily, inspired by fresh ingredients and family traditions taught him to love fine ingredients and have respect for good quality. At home, each day proceeded to the rhythm of the kitchen, which was almost like a ritual. As Gaetano grew, he developed the love for fine cuisine, the blends of different flavours, contrasting tastes and unusual pairings of sweet, savory, bitter and sour. He had a talent for it and a desire to be creative and delighted by the idea of working with ingredients much like a real architect works with materials.
Starting his career as an apprentice in Saint-Moritz, and then, under the supervision of the great chef Angelo Paracucchi, in Ameglia, he learnt how to bring taste to life. It was later at Le Moulin de Mougins with Roger Vergé and in Paris working with Gaston Lenôtre that he gently found his place in life and his vocation.
In 1982, he returned to Colle di Val d’Elsa, Tuscany to open Arnolfo, the family restaurant together with his mother, his sister and later in 1989 his brother joined him. At Arnolfo, Gaetano creates a contemporary cuisine inspired by the Mediterranean. A cuisine that is personally created with the respect for traditions, strictly using the freshest and the best produce, a focus on local ingredients of the territory of Siena and Tuscany with an emphasis on simplicity and harmony with the seasons.
EX.IT catches up with Gaetano Trovato…
Chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up. How did you find your way into the culinary field to become one of the most soughtafter Chef!
My brother Giovanni and I were born in Scicli, a small town in southern Sicily. We come from a typical large italian family: my father was a farmer and my mother Concetta was a housewife and a great cook. We used to see on our table all the farm products harvested by my dad according to the season.
When I was 12, we moved to Colle di Val d’Elsa, where I had the possibility to discover and love a kind of cuisine which was different from the one I got used to. Indeed, every italian region has its own cuisine, and I think it’s really interesting to mix them.
I’ve always been attracted to food, its preparation and its taste and colors, especially because of my mum!
I remember spending the entire mornings and afternoons looking at her while she was cooking. My mum use to say “Love comes from good food”.
When I grew up a little, I decided to start to approach food my own way. I still perfectly remember my first job in a bakery. A kind man, in Colle di Val d’Elsa, taught me how to make bread and we worked together for a while. Once I completed my studies, I decided to travel the world in order to learn more and more about this job, and working mainly in Switzerland and in France.
Your cuisine is inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced…
First of all, as you said, choosing fresh and quality ingredients is the main thing. In my opinion, in a well-balanced plate you should have – Smoothness, Crunchiness, Acidity, Bitterness and Sweetness.
To create all these different textures in a single plate, every ingredient must be cooked separately. Every ingredient indeed needs different temperature and time to be cooked. If you want to valorize every single ingredient, you have to take care of it.
Your previous experience which helped to form who you are as a chef today…
Once I finished my studies, I started to travel around the world. I spent my formative years in France and Switzerland. I had the great opportunity to work with great Chef as Gastone Le Notre, Angelo Paracucchi, Ragè Vergè. After that I opened my own restaurant, trying to express my own philosophy, that’s how Arnolfo was born.
Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a new dish and the inspiration…
First of all I set up my own project, respecting the seasonality of the ingredients I have available at that moment. I draw new ideas on my book and then I show it to my staff. We all share our own opinion about it and after that we start to cook all together, trying to improve all the ingredients’ taste and texture.
My main inspiration comes from Art and Architecture. If I hadn’t been a cook, I definitely would have been an architect. I love to visit museums all over the world, admiring different architectural design
I’m glad I’m working on my new restaurant, deisigned by myself together with my brother, because I have the possibility to combine my two passions.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
100% creativity. You can learn every technique, but if but if you don’t put a part of yourself in what you do, you can’t make your costumers feel something during their dinner. You plates will be flat.
Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredients and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…
I recently discovered again my love for balsamic. I spend a lot of time, almost every day, looking for good manufacturers, producers, people that work with passion and love for food and the environment. I love buying my ingredients from local producers, as Laura Peri, Alessandro Ganozzi etc.
Good question, my favourite ingredients are legumes, fish from the Tyrrhenian Sea, but most of all, my personal favourite - the pigeon.
I don’t really like bluefish, like anchovy. I don’t like the taste, the texture, I don’t even like touching them.
Special cooking equipment you enjoy using…
I love cooking with a bamboo steamer, I usually prepare an herbal blend and cook fish or vegetable with that, in order to give all the perfume and the taste to the ingredients.
Your greatest influences in the kitchen… Rigour. Organization. Respect to ingredients.
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
I can’t live without my job. I have been lucky, I found my way, my passion, something that makes me feel proud and happy every day since I was really young and I have never ever thought to leave it. When I see my costumers enjoying my food...there’s nothing else I need. There is always something to learn, and to see the new generation follow this crazy/adorable job, it make me feel positive.
How do you stay on top of the new cooking trends?
This could sound a little unreal but I study every day, I read books, I talk with my colleagues and visit restaurants, travel all over the world, in order to learn different traditions, culture and ingredients. I can’t see the end on my way, I keep walking and benefit from the experience accumulated day by day.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
The whole point is not to skip to the head of the class, work your way up. Find your own philosophy, find a chef that you admire and learn with humility and love. Don’t be lazy or impatient, if you work hard you will find everything in life.
GIUSEPPE FORNILLO
ITALIAN TOUCH IN TOKYO
Born and raised in Rotonda, a small town in the south of Italy, Giuseppe started his career alternating from hotel school and seasonal jobs in hotels and restaurants in the area. At age of 18, he moved to Florence to join the culinary team of St Regis Florence (former Grand Hotel) and moved after few years as executive chef to the Hotel Astoria Firenze where he had the opportunity to work closely with Mr. Rossano Boscolo and assist him in his culinary school “etoile”.
The turning point was in 1996, when Shangri-la Hotel Bangkok offered him the position of head chef in their newly opened Italian restaurant Angelini. Three years of his tenure, the restaurant won several awards and accolades including the prestigious “World’s Best Hotel Restaurant Award”. With the start of new millennium, he moved to Taipei to be part of the opening team of The Westin Taipei and to overview the culinary operation for 12 restaurants, 3 bars and a large banquet operation. 4 years later, he moved back to Bangkok to the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, A Luxury Collection Hotel first and then to The Athenee Bangkok A Luxury Collection Hotel, where he covered the position of F&B Director and Executive Assistant Manager.
In 2012, he left Thailand and moved to Japan as Hotel Manager of the prestigious St. Regis Osaka, two years later he was asked to move to Tokyo and manage the operations of the 1200 room hotelThe Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay.
EX.IT catches up with Giuseppe Fornillo to get an insight on hospitality and F&B…
How has hospitality changed in the last years?
The advent of internet, the rise of global economics, the increase of low-cost airlines, the upsurge of private form of accommodation, the proliferation of full served middle scale hotels, all these factors, have contributed to the increase of travelers and consequently changed their habits and expectations. This is not to mention the change in hotel booking industry, proliferate of social media and review sites, which has transformed our marketing strategy and the way we engage with our guests.
In such a fast-moving world, I believe we are only at the starting phase of this transformation; consequently, our businesses is constantly evolving and as hoteliers today we need to pay attention to what is changing thus invest in technologies and talents to keep up with new trends and to adapt to them.
Luxury travellers…
For luxury travellers today, it is the butler service, the champagne on the ice-bucket and the experience in itself is no longer enough.
Luxury travelers want to be in control of their journey, they are looking to a personal fulfillment authenticity as extension of what is local to a destination and focus on a more intimate experiences. They prefer small luxury hotels and in additional to fine dining they are looking for local eateries, they want to go and do what locals do and as hoteliers our mission is to create that truly unique experience for our guests and be part of what they want to accomplish without forgetting the flawless execution foundation.
Guests needs have changed, what do guests expect when booking restaurants?
As operators we need to know that when guests book at our restaurants they have already looked us up: our webpage, if we are active on socials, read our on-line reviews on the various reviewsites and therefore are aware what other guests are saying about us, our menus and our prices.
When guests come to our restaurants, they aren’t just looking for a meal to enjoy, but the want to have an experience and maybe even the same dish that their friends post on Instagram the previous week.
If they are loyal guests, first of all they want to be recognized, and the expectation is that we know everything about their preferences and all is set to their liking.
If they are a first time guest, our mission is to ensure that our team engages with them on a personal
level and ensure they become our regulars and most importantly our ambassador.
Flexibility with the menu has recently become an essential expectation. I know, many chefs will not agree with me on this, but often people have allergies or other dietary restrictions, due to this it is important that we meet their needs for an enjoyable evening.
Knowledge of the associates is without a doubt a key element of a customer’s experience: menu, wine pairings, health information, details about seasonal special, the story behind a recipe, are information that guests expect our associates to have; for this reason we are investing a lot in training and developing our team in this area.
Of course great food is a guest’s number one expectation; the consistency, the skill, the passion, creativity of our talents, the quality of ingredients and the techniques used are the driver for success.
What makes F&B successful today? Do you need to be more of a generalist?
What have you learnt from your predecessors and what have you innovated?
In a successful hotel, the F&B operation plays an important role. In certain affirmed properties F&B revenue can contribute up to 50% of hotel revenue. Hotel restaurants should not be considered as the place for hotel guests where they are only having their breakfast or their club sandwiches when running late.
Every hotel restaurant needs to have its own concept and philosophy linking with the location and to be identified with its own name and grow its reputation in the markets to become the place where locals want to go.
Our mission is “To be the favorite destination where locals go to meet, eat and drink.” And our mission is achieved through our three pillars: Go local, Talents, and F&B Marketing.
Go local: providing best local authentic food, using the best local products and work in partnership with local farmers and craft-producers.
Talent: attract, grow and retain the best talent who is passionate about Food and Beverage.
F&B Marketing: nowadays it’s unthinkable to run an F&B operation without a full time capable social marketing expert who can create an independent restaurant web-page, keep the social active and interesting, increase the numbers of follower, and promptly interact with guests and promoting various activities and events in the restaurants.
In addition to the restaurants in hotels, The F&B offered at banquet rooms do not need to be underestimated; the quality of service and food must be at the same level of what we are serving in our fine-dining and this area can be very profitable for the department.
In our hotel, we serve near to 1000 weddings a year plus large MICE and corporate events. It’s essential that food and beverages are at the top and our team is well trained and organized in planning and executing.
KEGON MEETING ROOM
JAPANESE SUITE
PRESIDENTIAL SUITE
Suggestions to the new generation of hoteliers?
In our sector, in order to be successful, the most important thing is to have the right attitude to serve and please our guests. The technical skills can be learned and as organization we have all the tools to support our new team members on this learning process. However, passion, commitment and selfdiscipline for learning must come from within.
Every time I have a welcome speech with our new associates, I share with them what I have learnt from my own experiences during the years:
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes - we are humans and sometimes we make mistakes, the important part is to learn from them and ensure that they don’t recur.
Ask questions - any time you are not sure about something, please check with your supervisor or your colleagues, this will also help you as a newcomer to understand better any process. Respect - is like a boomerang, if you give, you will receive.
Act with integrity and honesty - when you put on your uniform, you are not only representing yourself and the hotel, but we are also representing the Brand and all the other 200,000 colleagues around the globe.
Never stop learning and have the ambition to do more and better.
Large hotel chains are creating unique customer profiles, how are hoteliers delivering a personalised guest experience?
If we think 20 year ago, offering a wake-up call or a newspaper was considered a personalized service and was very appreciated; nowadays personalization is more to anticipate our guests needs, such as, knowing in which room they would prefer to stay in, the kind of pillow, bathrobe they like, if they prefer a large comfy chair rather than a desk, what are their frequently request, what is their preferred drink, food and so on.
Today with support of technologies and varies applications that we have we are able to know our guests preferences even if they are first timers to our hotel and the impact on guest satisfaction is huge.
How hotels can compete and win with food & beverage operations?
So often hotel F&B managers complain that it is too difficult to compete with the freestanding restaurants near their hotel, but if we are look in detail of the potential, hotel restaurants have and are the same or have even more opportunity to compete and win.
First of all the hotel restaurant needs to create his own selling point and gain reputation within the locals; stay away from the prototype of “Hotel Dining”; have his own concept and design, as well as an individual marketing plan separate from the hotel; focus on quality of ingredients and invest in talents to delivery great food and friendly service.
More than ever before, cuisine expresses itself in hotel restaurants. What is the dining experience you offer? And what adjectives would you choose to describe your restaurants?
To accommodate the needs of our hotel guests and locals in our hotel we have three restaurants and each of them with a different concept and offering, the common adjective behind is “Authenticity”.
Maihama Teppanyaki+ is a traditional Teppanyaki, where our guests sit in front of our chef and hear the sounds, the aroma and the food sizzle on the grill, furthermore, all the ingredients and the famous wagyu beef are from local farmers.
The Grand Café is our all day dining restaurant with 350 seats. Every month we host a culinary promotion and all the food is fresh prepared from our large open kitchen; with its thematic and colorful design, the quality of food and friendly service makes it the number one restaurant in all review sites in the competitive area.
The Galleria Café is the newest addition to our F&B family, inspired by the popular Asian Food Court, offering in his upscale setting, authentic Asian comfortable food.
MAIHAMA TEPPANYAKI+
Your thoughts about Italian cuisine around the world…
More than 20 years ago, the first time I travelled as a professional around the world, Italian food (in most cases) was nothing like you would find in any restaurant in Italy. Today fortunately this has changed for the better.
In the last 20 years, the transformation has been dramatic, this is thanks to the globalization, and the passion and commitment from “professionals” who work hard to ensure that when we serve our Italian food to our guests we let them taste our culture and tradition, valuing our unique ingredients; and I feel proud to have been a part of this transformation.
MARZIA VARVAGLIONE
It all started with love…
The Varvaglione story starts here, a story of family, a story of love…
Grandpa Angelo and Grandma Filomena on a spring day decided to start a new project together to build the Varvaglione winery.
As country life was full of walks through the vineyards in the summertime, and the entire days dedicated to transforming the grapes to wine, working the land they loved.
The challenge didn’t scare them, the wine brought them together. That’s how they met, she was the daughter of a wine producer, and he 10 years older was in the business of selling wine. Ha had seen her while he was buying wine to sell in his father’s business and feel in love at first sight. They did not say much, that’s how it was in those days. But in a few years they were married, with a big project they had undertaken together, creating the winery that is the present and the future. Perhaps they couldn’t imagine what would come from that dream, but as we all know, love conquers all with its great force in the face of difficulty.
MARZIA, COSIMO, FRANCESCA, MARIA TERESA BASILE AND ANGELO VARVAGLIONE
EX.IT speaks with Marzia Varvaglione who explains her family’s passion and love for their land…
Four generations of the Varvaglione family winery...
A story is told over time, years and generations. The Varvaglione story began with our grandparents and their special love story.
1921 was the first harvest, and the fruits of their labor were sold for the first time under the family name. It was a time of experiments, passion, and the challenge of producing wines that expressed the unique and distinctive flavors of their beloved Puglia.
They already knew by the early ’70s that their land was capable of producing great wines. It was this conviction that led Cosimo to study enology and specialize in winemaking.
He had seen his parents and grandparents work the land, cultivating the grapevines but also their love for their family and the land. By the beginning of the new millennium, the results started to become evident and grew along with the satisfaction. Varvaglione 1921 arrived on the international markets. Today, Cosimo leads the cellar flanked by his children Marzia and Angelo, with Francesca soon to join them, making four generations of the Varvaglione family winery. It is this next generation that will have the task of renewing the family bond to this region, with respect for the land of their origins, producing wines that reflect the delicate balance between nature and man.
The vine of Varvaglione 1921…
The native grape varieties of Puglia range from the white Fiano to the red Negroamaro; in the hands of Varvaglione 1921 they become quality wines. But Puglia is above all the home to Primitivo, which finds its best expression in Papale Oro: a modern interpretation of a tradition dating back thousands of years.
The philosophy…
Believing in the land and working it with respect, with an eye on preservation for future generations: this is the philosophy that has guided the Varvaglione family in all its choices, since 1921.
Our wines come from this land: Puglia is a territory of green countryside as far as the eye can see, that is, to the horizon and the Ionian Sea. Flavors of the south, almonds and vineyards, a mild climate, vibrant colors, the austere architecture of the masseria farmhouses: this is what makes our land so special, a land we have been faithful to for four generations.
We grow native grape varieties; in every bottle we produce there is some of the sea breeze and fertile land of Puglia. Our position here just got stronger, with the acquisition of the masseria where our grandparents made their wine. From the terrace, we can admire the expanse of vineyards where it all began.
Our goal has always been that of not just ‘making wine’, but allowing the grapes to express the best of this territory. It is our land and not the producer who makes Varvaglione’s wines.
Appearance, Aroma, Bouquet,
Taste, Aftertaste and Overall Impression are some of the factors considered for a good wine –which of the Varvaglione collection would you say is outstanding and tell us about the 12 e Mezzo Fashion Edition Wine Collection…
Italy is famous for its beauties: arts, landscapes, cooking and wine. Here at Varvaglione’s, we were wondering how we could combine together wine and beauty, so spreading the made in Italy style with our bottles, too.
So, we reflected that a good way to do that was being motivated by both glamour and the Italian haute couture design.
We have been inspired by the classical textures that have made our country as a brand synonym of elegance and preciousness.
This is how we originated the 12emezzo Fashion Edition wine collection - Four labels, four wines, four different characters.
Houndstooth, with its legendary elegance it dresses the sharp and light taste of Primitivo.
Tweed, synonym of comfort and innovation to dress the delicate taste of 12 e mezzo Negroamaro, appreciated by young palates, too.
Polka dots, more romantic, is perfect for the aromatic Malvasia that tells about the liveliness of the young.
And then, the classic pinstripe dresses the fine taste of rosé with a clear and linear texture perfect to enclose the small ironic bubbles of this wine.
All over the world, Italy is connected to one only great adjective. “Beautiful”. This is why we really care about preserving the magnificence bound to this statement.
May it be wine, design or whatever about our wonderful country? The only thing left is being charmed by these wines, while choosing the one that represents you better. Stay Fashion!
“Papale Oro is the flagship wine of Varvaglione 1921, the winery’s finest expression of that quintessential Puglia native grape variety, Primitivo di Manduria”
Grown in the Papale contrada in the region of Manduria where the Primitivo DOC is grown, the two Papale labels differ for the age of the grapevines. Papale Oro is produced from vines that are from 40 to 80 years old, while Papale Rosso is the product of vines dating back to 20 to 35 years.
Varvaglione began making Primitivo and among the cellar’s collections, there are a good 11 wines made from this prolific, native Puglia grape variety. But Papale Oro is the winery’s iconic wine, in 2011, it was introduced into the market with the 2008 vintage on the occasion of the cellar’s 90th anniversary.
As its name is implies, Papale is linked to the papacy and a Pope from Puglia – Pierfrancesco Orsini (1649-1730), elected as Pape Benedict XIII in 1724. He used this very same lot of land to make his own Primitivo wine. Today the Primitivo labels reproduce a document dating hundreds of years that tells the story of the election of Pope Benedict
and the jubilant response in Puglia.
The rejoicing was great on the part of the citizenry for the ascent to the Papal throne of their Lord, now the Highest Pontiff, that for ten days and nights they displayed extraordinary delight, many were the resounding pearls of firecrackers, rounds fired from harquebus, and every sort of firework.
Giving public thanks to God with a solemn Te Deum, for having chosen to govern his flock with such a Holy and Zealous Pastor.
The rejoicing was great again in 2013, when Varvaglione 1921 received a special and mysterious order for 115 bottles of Papale. The ship was Rome, more specifically, for Vactican City. Indeed, the odd number of bottles ordered corresponds directly to the number of Cardinals in the College that was electing the new Pope.
Is it any wonder that Papale Oro is the symbol of the Varvaglione family winery?
Tomatoe tart with mozzarella eggplant and fresh basil by
Alfredo Russo
(6 SERVINGS APPROXIMATELY)
600 gr “datterino” tomatoes
150g eggplant purée
Dried powder of basil
Dried powder of tomatoes
180 gr buffalo mozzarella cheese
Extra virgin olive oil
Maldon salt
Fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For parmesan shortbread:
150g eggplant flesh
30gr parmesan
45gr plain flour
Prepare the parmesan shortbread (mix only), put it in a shape and bake at 190°.
Peel and slice the eggplant in 1 cm slices. Bake at 160° for 12 mins (heat and steam) and for 4/5 minutes at 160° (dry).
Bake the rest of eggplant at 160° for 2 hours, than scoop the cream and blend it.
Blanch, peel and dry the “datterino” tomatoes with olive oil, garlic and thyme. Mash the buffalo mozzarella with cream and place at the bottom, topped with the parmesan biscuit.
Place the eggplant slices in a ring, pour the eggplant cream, the semi-dry datterino bake on the biscuit, garnish with flowers, maldon and olive oil.
ALFREDO RUSSO
ALFREDO RUSSO
THE FRANKLIN BY ALFREDO RUSSO
ANTHONY GENOVESE
ITALIAN FINE DINING INTO A NEW ERA
Although his origins are deeply rooted in the sunbaked mountains and dramatic coastline of Calabria in southwest Italy, Anthony Genovese spent much of his early childhood in France. This is also where he first embarked on his culinary education. After attending the Ecole Hoteliére de Nice at the age of sixteen, Anthony worked in a number of Michelin starred restaurants across France, including in Monaco, Marseille and Nice.
The bond with his homeland eventually lured Anthony back to Italy, where he embarked on what he looks back on as his first important professional experience, at the three Michelin starred Enoteca Pinchiorri in the heart of Florence.
As a young chef, Anthony then travelled extensively around Europe and to Asia, where he discovered another side of himself and his culinary style. Whilst passion for cooking had always been ingrained within him, it was an understanding of oriental cuisine that Genovese developed during these travels which allowed him to define his unique culinary identity.
He spent time in Japan and Malaysia in particular, before going back to Italy in 1997 to take up the role of Head Chef at the restaurant Rossellinis in the Hotel Palazzo Sasso, in Ravello. Here he gained his first Michelin star, and ran a kitchen firmly rooted in tradition and his classical training, yet also combined with creative flair, international influences and a dedication to high quality produce and ingredients.
The turning point, however, came in 2003. Together with his friend and colleague Marion Lichtle, Anthony decided to open a new restaurant of his own in Rome. Il Pagliaccio drew inspiration from travels, both in the decor and in the cuisine, yet is ultimately a celebration of Italian gastronomy. Over the past ten years his adventure in the capital city has garnered Genovese two Michelin stars, while his quest for new ideas which simultaneously impress and surprise the lucky guests of Il Pagliaccio continues to thrive.
Located in Rome’s historic center, Il Pagliaccio takes its name from a painting given to Anthony by his mother, which hangs in pride of place in the restaurant. Il Pagliaccio literally translates as “The Clown,” and refers to the mastery of different emotions the circus character can provoke. A unique concept, it seeks not only to please its guests with delicious food, but to stir emotions of joy, curiosity and nostalgia through its dishes. Anthony Genovese’s two Michelin starred restaurant Il Pagliaccio brings Italian fine dining into a new era.
EX.IT catches up with Anthony Genovese…
Your cuisine connects flavors of the Mediterranean with the Orient, taking diners on a journey between two cultures which works in perfect harmony on each plate, a perfect balance…
My current concept of cooking and food has essentially been developed from my own personal experiences. For starters, my family and culture are a mixture of both French and Italian. But thanks to curiosity and desire to learn more, I have also spent a lot of my life travelling around Asia. I find my dishes reflect all these different cultures, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes more powerfully. I use a mixture of preparation styles and ingredients from all over the world and bring this to Rome in my own way.
You honed your culinary skills at Enoteca Pinchiorri with Annie Féolde, how did this help you as a chef today?
Working with Annie Féolde was such a great honor. She taught me so much about food and cooking and helped me develop hugely. Thanks to her I have learnt so many things that are fundamental for me today. The experience at Enoteca Pinchiorri was a crucial step for my career and I still keep it in my heart.
Your culinary philosophy, and the process of creating a new dish...
No two dishes are the same - creating a dish is a process that develops in different ways. Basically my cuisine follows the seasons, so I elaborate dishes that are related specifically to the time of the year we’re in, while also drawing on flavour combinations I’ve found on my travels. We do some experimentations in the kitchen, I always talk to my sous chef and with the rest of my team before creating a new dish, and it can take a long time to perfect. Teamwork is very important in my work because each different palate and every experience can lead to the right idea.
PICCIONE, L’INDIVIA E LE MELE COTOGNE
IL RISONE E LA GALLINA, BURRO AMARO E RIGAGLIE
Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredient that you weren’t able to master…
The ingredients I choose, as I said before, follow the seasons. I do not always look for ingredients that are necessarily local, I like to combine flavors of different areas, seeking the right balance between East and West but always with that respect for the best quality produce I can get right here in Rome.
I love using the freshest and most natural ingredients, processing them as little as possible and respecting them in their entirety.
I love working with seasonal ingredients and pushing myself, and there’s not a particular ingredient I’m afraid of using, no.
Special cooking techniques…
I wouldn’t exactly say I have specific techniques, but I’m not afraid to bring things I’ve learnt in Japan, for example, and apply it to a dish which is mainly Italian in style. I respect tradition, but I also like to look towards the future, in terms of cooking techniques.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
They are all three very important. Each voice depends on the other and together they are the right balance for the pursuit of perfection. Without creativity it is difficult to create new dishes, but the technique helps us to create the dish in the right way, with a balance between flavours and textures.
Two Michelin stars, several accolades - what keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
I always seek perfection. I love my job and I always want everything to be at its best, so I try not to rest on my laurels. The two Michelin stars and the other awards don’t make me complacent, on the contrary they encouraged me to do better and better. Being a chef, your job is never done – there are always new ideas to try, new flavour combinations, new dishes you’d never imagined before.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
Being a chef is certainly not a glamorous profession. The hours are long, the conditions are hot and sometimes stressful, it’s a job that requires a lot of grafting, which starts in the morning and ends late at night. Being a chef means spending most of the day in the kitchen and not just being hosted on TV shows and appearing in magazines. What you see from the outside of those few chefs who have made it isn’t the whole picture at all.
GIOVANNI GRASSO
A MIX OF TRADITION & INNOVATION
Born and raised in Torino, the seventh of eight children, Giovanni had to choose what he wanted to study after school. He decided to look for a course where both manual skills and creativity was important: a hotel management school.
The path which led his culinary dream was observing his mother while cooking for the whole family. As a teenager, he thought what she did was normal and took it for granted, but later he understood that she was managing a little restaurant even if she was organizing everything in a confident and enthusiastic way, as it was the easiest thing in this world. So, he was wrong then.
In 1995, the story of La Credenza was written, the experience and his partners’ and a passion which was found in the kitchen… The first time Giovanni met Igor Macchia was because of his father who use to cook at home every Saturday morning preparing lunch and those were the rare moments they spent together.
The experience joins a career which gave him the opportunity of travelling, meeting new cultures and new flavors, and gave him the spark which inspired his love for the kitchen.
The mix of tradition and innovation of regional and Italian traditional cooking is Giovanni’s culinary masterpiece which established La Credenza as one of Italy’s most inspired, appealing and promising restaurants, which led him to receive a Michelin star in 2006.
EX.IT speaks with Giovanni Grasso and Igor Macchia…
You cook traditional Italian cuisine with Italian produce, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation – a perfect harmony…
One of the most difficult challenges is to find the right balance between different flavors and ingredients in every dish. Sensitivity, competence and the codification of the recipes are a key factors. Our cooking always begins from high quality ingredients with a close link to our tradition and land. This is the winning paradigm in all our projects.
Previous experience which helped you as a chef…
We both started from the very beginning of the career: we got seasonal jobs like kitchen boys, washing dishes and handymen in the kitchen. The typical starting step is when you choose this type of work, followed by several experiences and new tasks and roles, in many places around the world. Eventually, in 1991 Igor arrived at La Credenza restaurant in San Maurizio Canavese, where he settled in 1995.
More than 25 years of experience and our clear definition of roles and responsibilities helped us to organize the work in the kitchen, and invest in quality and reach high standards: I would call this our business model, as we follow the same path in other projects.
GIOVANNI
IGOR MACCHIA AND GIOVANNI GRASSO
Your culinary philosophy, the inspiration and the process creating a new dish…
Giovanni Grasso: Creativity comes from life and experience. Constant research and investigation are the sources for my inspiration… they come from restaurants, travels, places, producers… anywhere. This journey started years ago and is a continuous evolution, in fact all the people I met during this journey added important milestones to my story. I started with a traditional and regional style, which I am still very connected to, then I picked some influence from nouvelle cuisine and fusion styles. If I had to give a definition to it now, I would use the expression “Fusion not Confusion”, which means that the right mix between different styles reflects in our vision which remains solid.
Igor Macchia: In my opinion new dishes can be divided in 3 categories. The first comes from an idea, memories of an aroma, a flavor or some ingredients, which I recreate in a dish. Others are born from “necessity”, because they cover parts of the menu for building up the most homogeneous style. Finally those inspired by a special event, where particular ingredients, I normally would not have touched, become the starting point.
The greatest challenge is always to create a dish that is perfect for both taste and sight. We normally start a new dish from ingredients that we know for being harmonic, we look for the best way to enhance their flavors. Then Chiara and Ivan, who are helping us in the kitchen, start with different ways of cooking and preparation until we find a dish which is perfect for both taste and sight; after that we need to standardize the process in order to recreate it in our restaurant, combining preparation time and quality.
Ingredients that inspire you…
Giovanni Grasso: The main source is observation, as I told you before. I always try to take in aromas and sensations of the territory, especially from Piedmont. For sure, all travels help to discover new aromas and flavors. This sensitivity of local products, like the meat from Piedmont and high quality cheese, exotic herbs and spices. I love to “make the ingredients tell the story of the people behind them”: the producers.
Igor Macchia: In this particular moment it revolves around the vegetables because I have direct access to the land next to our new restaurant Casa Format. This helps me to see vegetables, considered common, from a new and less ordinary perspective. Elderflowers are providing me much inspiration these days.
Your favorite ingredients…
Giovanni Grasso: One of the ingredients I really love to cook is Piedmontese cow meat, an excellent product of this territory.
Igor Macchia: I love spices (especially wasabi) and aged Parmigiano Reggiano.
Ingredient that you weren’t able to master…
Giovanni Grasso: Generally speaking, it’s important not to have preconceptions about any ingredient, even if I don’t like the flavor. The ingredients I like less could be oysters, but only because I don’t like to open them.
Igor Macchia: In the end it’s not about the ingredients but about the preparation. During one of my trips to China I had the chance to try some typical ravioli, filled with meat, and bouillon. My first idea was to create an Italian version. Unfortunately, my first experiments was horrible and for several years I put the idea aside. One day I had the right intuition and the recipe took form, even 5 years after the first intuition.
CASA FORMAT - GELATO ZABAIONE
CASA FORMAT - RISOTTO PEPERONI
Special cooking techniques or equipment you enjoy using…
Giovanni Grasso: In our restaurant La Credenza we always try to integrate one step at a time. We started with the traditional way of cooking with fires and flames, then slowly introduced more innovative instruments and techniques such as the smoking gun or low-temperature cooking. These innovations helped the restaurant to grow and keep up to date.
Igor Macchia: I love to use our old Carpigiani to make ice-cream.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
Giovanni Grasso: The most important thing is the product. We need to celebrate the ingredients without destroying them.
Igor Macchia: The most important things are the ingredients and the producers. We would never be able to create any dish without them. I believe that the network and the relationship established with the producers is what makes a restaurant excellent rather than ordinary.
What can guests expect from your restaurant?
Starting with the name of our restaurant, “La Credenza”, we tried to suggest a vision, an emotional journey between aroma and knowledge: tradition and hospitality told by the selection and the continuous research of excellent ingredients. We suggest to our guests an emotional journey through space and time, back to the roots of flavor and perception of sense. It isn’t about a single dish, but about shared emotions.
What was the feeling when you received your first awards; and what keeps you motivated…
It would be a lie saying that it isn’t a pleasure to be awarded with a prize. Being honored with a considerable award is an indisputable satisfaction. “We are not cooking to be honored, but we’re looking for satisfaction in seeing happiness and satisfaction on our client’s face when he’s enjoying our creation”
The awards also means responsibility, as it is, for example the star Michelin we got at La Credenza in 2006: after the initial euphoria, we understood that now we had to multiply our efforts to keep it, and to maintain always the same high quality level.
Until today, Igor and I, together with the whole cooking team, are committed to our dreams to reach new and higher goals, with different projects but following the same philosophy and vision of cooking and hospitality.
Would you say cuisine has changed?
Giovanni Grasso: Culinary culture has improved in the last years and it isn’t something ‘happening’ or depending on some special touch, as it once was. Now there’s more technical competence which allows to enhance the products. For all our own projects signed “By La Credenza”, it was very important to codify the recipes and to organize our work in the kitchen. This is important for process control and keeping the quality standard in all aspects.
Igor Macchia: Cooking has changed a lot. I remember that in the beginning of my career it was very difficult to find an interesting cookbook, so I had to look for them in Geneva, Switzerland, to find different recipes. Nowadays information is much easier to find. The same in the kitchen: technology and attention for the ingredients have done some big steps and our world has changed completely in the last 15/20 years. Competition and quality are much more important and this inspires everybody to work always better and to achieve higher quality goals.
LA CREDENZA
Suggestions to the new generation of Italian chefs…
Giovanni Grasso: I would suggest studying more, keeping down to earth while challenging themselves and practicing the sublime art called patience.
Igor Macchia: It would be wise not to follow fashion while thinking that what goes on in the kitchen is easy. These days, you need seriousness, ambition and will. Unfortunately, very often these things are missing.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
There is some glamour, but it comes after a lot of sacrifice, commitment, effort and time that could have gone to personal activities and family. I would never recommend to a young person to follow this path only for the sake of glamour and glory. You never know if they come and most of all you don’t know if it stays. Generally, I can only recommend growing up in one’s own personal and professional way, achieving a solid technical basis, continuing learning and improving by constant confrontation with oneself. There is no secret ingredient here, but it’s important to be happy about our job, share everything with a team, otherwise the effort is not worth the trouble.
How would you define luxury?
Honestly, luxury without style is nothing. Today’s concept of luxury stands close to appearance, ostentation. I think real luxury is knowing how to choose and to recognize the quality to fully enjoy it. This is valid in all fields, including food. Italians are born with a slight edge, because we generally grew up with a timeless background of “Grande Bellezza” on our land, culture, arts and food. To revive and propose this kind of luxury makes sense and brings good taste. However, luxury is an end in itself and doesn’t belong to us, we try to avoid it.
MIRKO
FASSARI
THE FRANKLIN IS A COMBINATION OF SIMPLICITY & SOPHISTICATION
“You are kind of forced to when you grew up in a big Italian family”, Mirko’s passion for cooking started at home at a young age, helping to prepare fresh pasta, desserts under the guidance of his mother and grandmother. His first kitchen experience was at the Adriatic coast in Rimini after graduating in 2006 from C. Uberti Institute of Chivasso, in the province of Turin. Two years later the opportunity travel and to grow professionally when he landed in Washington and work with Roberto Donna at Galileo III restaurant. Here he was able to expand his culinary skills and knowledge, the key being passion and love for the job which allowed him to progress.
Returning back to Italy and armed with the experience, it allowed Mirko to make correct choices, first with Enrico Zanirato at Tajut and then at the first Michelin-Starred restaurant in a Royal Palace – Dolce Stil Novo Ristorante Alla Reggia at the Palace of Venaria with Alfredo Russo. Passion, hard work usually pays off and with the opening of The Franklin by Alfredo Russo, the Italian fine dining in Knightsbridge, London, Mirko was given the opportunity to be part of The Franklin.
The cuisine at The Franklin by Alfredo Russo is a combination of simplicity, sophistication and quality seasonal ingredients and with Mirko’s culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation, he always starts from the foundations of classic cuisine, as they are guarantee balance and allows one to build and reinvent every dish.
MIRKO FASSARI
ALFREDO RUSSO AND MIRKO FASSARI
TUBER SALAD
CACIO E PEPE
Your culinary philosophy, the best dish you have created…
My philosophy is working around simple elements, rediscovering the pureness of flavours, flavors of ingredients where it has been lost. I’m and advocate of the team effort when it comes to creating a new dish. Cruditee di Capasanta - this is one of my best dishes, three textures of peppers created with my sous chef Vincenzo Sorvillo.
The experience which has helped you are as a chef today…
Every experience contributes to progress, but I reckon the most relevant for me has been – working with Roberto Donna, this was my first important experience where I discovered my passion for food, the kitchen. Next with Enrico Zanirato, the fantasy and imagination of being creative. Now, this is the most important work with Alfredo Russo where I discover the importance to balance tradition and innovation and where I am reaching this maturity to being a chef.
EX.IT chats with Mirko Fassari…
CAPASANTA
Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredient that you weren’t able to master…
Inspiration is on the seasons and I choose the ingredients based on seasons.
I love the fusion between Mediterranean cuisine and some elements and ingredients from Asian tradition. I really like to experiment the tomato, a simple element that hides infinite interpretations.
I believe that in the kitchen there are no products that cannot be mastered, and that often the most complicated elements to be processed bring out the challenge and imagination of a good chef.
Special cooking techniques, equipment you enjoy using…
I like to use the vac pack and pacojet, both maintain the original organoleptic characteristics of food, this reflects my philosophy of cooking.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
All of three are important because, first you learn to produce, then you develop the technique and when you control them you can start to put your own creativity in the dish.
MIRKO FASSARI
LEMON TART
MIRKO FASSARI AND ALFREDO RUSSO
FASSONA WITH BLACK TRUFFLE
THE FRANKLIN BY ALFREDO RUSSO
ALFREDO RUSSO ALONG WITH MAURIZIO REDAELLI, GENERAL MANAGER THE FRANKLIN HOTEL AND STAFF
MIRKO
What was the feeling when you received your first awards The Franklin by Alfredo Russo, and what keeps you motivated?
I’m 100% committed to this project, putting all my effort without posing any limits!
Receiving the first award, it felt amazing, I realized and understood that with passion and efforts you can achieve anything and everything. I love my job and I’m hungry to get better every day. My biggest dream is to get the Michelin star and this would give one the importance.
What can guests expect at The Franklin?
The Franklin by Alfredo Russo is all about excellence, a fine dining restaurant in Knightsbridge which seat 30 guests, an intimate space where the familiar grey velvet decor, with silk ikat-patterned furnishings and immense Venetian églomisé mirrors, generates an exclusive, refined warmth.
The cuisine is a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, a composition of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced. It is an enjoyable master gourmand embracing life. An energetic cuisine, spontaneous, effervescent, full with vitality. A cuisine that is made for people, pure taste, sever choices without comprises, minimal careful elaboration and a sensorial experience that connects to tradition.
THE FRANKLIN BAR
THE FRANKLIN BAR
THE FRANKLIN BY ALFREDO RUSSO
How Cuisine has changed?
Globalization, digitalization and mass media they have radically changed the perception of food, as a result, customer preferences have changed so now people want to discover a new taste every time and eating is not only a matter of food but also feelings and emotions.
Suggestions to the new generation of Italian chefs…
Travel around the world, experience and learn the difference between the cuisines but first the culture. Be humble, have an open mind and treasure all the teachings.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
A chef’s life it’s first of all is a lot of hard work and full of sacrifices. If you don’t really have passion, love determination and ambles, you will never become a chef, its best to find a different profession.
CASSATA SICILIANA
MARCO STABILE
The chef from Pontedera, Tuscany, who quickly rose to prominence in Italy. As most Italian chefs have their mothers, grandmothers to thank for their culinary passion, Marco is no different. He developed his skills whilst working in, and contributing to, some of Italy´s finest kitchens, including the famed Baghino in Prato, Il Salotto del Chianti, Osteria di Passignano, the Beringer Blass, Il Paese dei Campanelli and Il Chiasso dei Portici.
“I had 3 very interesting experiences: first one was with a Tuscan chef, Guido Sabatini, where I learn from the most authentic and quality traditional Tuscan cooking, the base of my cooking style. The second was with Marcello Crini, at Salotto del Chianti Restaurant, where I learnt how important it was to choose the best ingredients to cook, which is also now is one of most important rule in my cooking code. The third was with Gaetano Trovato, in Arnolfo Restaurant, I learnt the importance of presentation, the elegance and the creative side of food” adds Marco. It was at Arnolfo with Gaetano Trovato that Marco began to develop his own unique style and in 2005 he went on to open Ora d´Aria in the heart of Florence.
EX.IT catches up with Marco Stabile
Your cuisine is inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced…
It is very important to understand that our palate can taste 5 different flavours. In every dish it is important to touch every one, in different ways. So, the chef, needs to taste a lot and start from a simple idea and develop the perfect balance year after year. Don’t forget that also temperatures, consistence and texture contributes to create a perfect balance.
Your culinary philosophy, the process of creating a new dish and the inspiration...
Culinary philosophy is… every dish is from the Tuscany culture, world influence on technique or ingredients; as I always choose the best ingredients; technique is important to enhance the ingredients and sensations. It is not always the same way, sometimes we start from one experience, sometimes we start with one ingredient; sometimes it is because of a beautiful idea and rest is just one idea. Every experience of life can create a new dish, the dish is a chef’s way to express his sensation, his life, and his character to the guests.
Ingredients that inspire you and your favorite ingredients…
Extra virgin olive oil and I am working with white potatoes from Petramala. I discover, I taste it in a simple way, I try to work on in several ways, and select it if the ingredient make me happy! Guinea fowl has always been a favourite.
Special cooking equipment you particular enjoy using…
I cannot to work well without my knives!
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
Everything is very important: everyone without the other produce just a medium product.
Your greatest influence in the kitchen… Oriental notes of food, the freshness, lightness and something interesting in traditional dishes also. The presentation - it’s beauty and the rhythm of everything in the restaurant. My girlfriend Liudmila is the best and good influence I can have, she is a very talented food stylist.
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
My first book was just released some weeks ago, it is the history of my career and of Ora d’Aria restaurant in 13 years. My passion for food and smiles of my guests motivates me to continue in this direction.
What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?
I always study, I go to eat in other important restaurants in all the world, and always renew my menu and dishes, following the best flavours and dishes that have history behind....
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
Follow your heart, tell people about your life and your history also about your territory through your dishes. It is the best way to have success and to be happy in the kitchen; remember one very important question is to answer always: Why do I do this dish?
DANIELE USAI
BLENDS THE BEST RAW MATERIALS
Approaching the world of cooking since he was a child, Daniel grew up in a food oriented family where his mother and grandmother were excellent cooks. While still in school, Daniele worked in kitchens in the evening and on the weekends; starting out in the local restaurants, he decided that this would become his life. Moving to the Rome, Daniele gained his culinary skills from some of the best restaurants where he developed his own style. He moved to London where he joined Antonio Carluccio at Carluccio’s in Covent Garden.
His link with the territory, the experience and the training abroad, the curiosity to experiment new combinations and the constant search of the most modern techniques reflects in his dishes which is all about flavors, flavors from his childhood. His kitchen is focused on the presentation of sea food. He blends the best raw materials with flair, enhancing the local flavors with unique and personal touches, pushing beyond the boundaries to explore contemporary, refined and refined tastes.
The fundamentals of Daniele’s cooking is the seasonality of the products and the careful selection of raw materials, which is why every three months the menu of Il Tino changes radically. He is very fond of the concept of “homemade” which is extensively present in his restaurant from the pasta to bread to the desserts which is made from scratch. Il Tino represents the breaking of the classical systems, based on firm roots and projected towards the future.
THEENCHANTEDAPPLE (FOIE GRAS AND ANNURCA APPLE)
SPAGHETTONE, OYSTERS, PATANEGRA HAM AND FERMENTED BLACKBERRIES
EX.IT catches up with Daniele Usai…
It’s interesting to learn how Chef’s find their passion for cooking and where they grew up…
I think my passion for cooking comes from my love of eating – I adore food and everything about it. This passion eventually evolved into a curiosity and eagerness to learn as much as possible about the craft. Now it’s safe to say that my passion for food has completely shaped my personal identity and path in life.
Your cuisine is inspired by local produce, the purity of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced…
I always strive for clean and elegant flavors in my dishes at Il Tino. I’m not a huge fan of the over-thetop and excessive; I believe dishes above all need to elicit joy and emotion. They should communicate the chef’s identity and his culinary philosophy. Dishes should never be conceptualized solely to satisfy the ego of those who cook them, but rather made to satisfy and delight the diner.
I find the right balance for many of my dishes instinctively – before I’ve even prepared them and they’re still just a concept I already know they’ll strike the right balance. With dishes that are in need of balance, I’ll often mentally use the taste and smell sensory analysis that sommeliers adopt when describing a wine.
Your previous experience which helped to form who you are as a chef today…
Each and every experience I’ve had – even the unpleasant ones – have made me the chef I am today. Some served to shape me in the basics and in technique, like my two years at the Terrazza dell’Eden with Chef Derflingher, or my apprenticeship at L’Albereta with Gualtiero Marchesi. But the experiences I remember the most fondly and that move me to this day are the ones that opened my heart to the world of gastronomy and made me fall in love with this vocation.
The time I spent at Neal Street Restaurant with Chef Antonio Carluccio, who recently passed away and to whom I’ve dedicated a dish on my menu, is a perfect example.
Signor Carluccio was able to transmit to an unruly and unsophisticated 19 year old a true love for food and the joy of preparing it for others. I’m eternally grateful to him.
Your culinary philosophy, take us through the process of creating a new dish and the inspiration…
My culinary philosophy is very simple. I love to propose recipes with seasonal ingredients sourced from my home region, as if everything was delimited by a circle - there are some lines that leave the circle, that represent the artistic license that I take every once in a while with foreign products or non-Italian techniques taken from my experiences abroad. My cuisine is clean, elegant, and contemporary. A bit how I feel myself!
For me, the creative process of a dish is abstract; there are no rules. Inspiration can come from a scent, from a memory, from your subconscious. It arrives when I least expect it, and it’s impossible to summon and channel it. I often enjoy revisiting traditional dishes that have been forgotten over time and giving them a new “luster.” I change menu 3 or 4 times a year and I rarely put old dishes back on the menu. This is because my cuisine is dynamic and constantly evolving. Who doesn’t adapt is lost.
BACCALA WAFER, LIME AND WASBAI
MULLET FISH WITH ARTICHOKE AND PISTACHIO
HOMAGETO CARLUCCI (BOTTOCINI PASTA, GOBBETTI SHRIMP, SAFFRON)
Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…
Right now I’m really into aromatic herbs and fresh chilli peppers. In our garden at Quarantunododici, my other restaurant and “little brother” to Il Tino, we cultivate around 40 different types of aromatic herbs, some rare and little known like cotton lavender, wormwood and helichrysum. I find that these herbs – especially in the springtime – enhance the dish, giving it complexity and unparalleled aromatic nuances. We also grow hot peppers like the scorpion Trinidad de Moruga which has an elevated spiciness and an intense aroma.
I don’t have a favorite ingredient – I adore food in its entirety! I love discovering new products that I didn’t know about before. At the moment I’m particularly taken by telline, small sweet clams that are in season this time of year in my home region of Lazio.
No! There isn’t a single ingredient that I don’t love and that I don’t like to use in my kitchen. I think any ingredient, when properly developed and placed in the right context can add value to a dish.
Your greatest influences in the kitchen…
My style of cooking is highly influenced by all of the gastronomic cultures that boast backgrounds strongly rooted in time, in millenniums. I can’t deny my love for Asian or French cuisine for example.
LOBSTER, BONE MARROW WITH PARSNIP AND LEMON BALM
Any special cooking techniques or equipment you enjoy using…
Given that my cuisine is contemporary, I’m continuously on the hunt for new techniques that can support or improve what we do in the kitchen. I’m a chef who has worked with “old school” chefs, so what I love above all in the kitchen is a strong flame, a good pan, spoons, spatulas and tweezers, a Salamander...basic things. A good chef needs to be able to produce a great dish with what he has. I hate cooking techniques that standardize, like vacuum-sealing at a controlled temperature. A solid chef should be able to determine with his senses if a fish is cooked perfectly or if a spaghetti is ready to be put in the pan. This is cooking: it’s a question of technique, of equipment but above all of instinct.
“Thermometers and timers are forbidden in my kitchen”
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
It goes without saying that the product is the most essential element. Ingredients are more than 50% important in my opinion, just as significant if not more so than the chef! A great chef needs to be able to root himself in his homeland and engage with small artisans and producers who can guarantee him the best and freshest products. At Il Tino for example we have a farm a few kilometers from the restaurant that cultivates seasonal vegetables for us. They’re picked at 6am and delivered to us by 10am. Do you have any idea how much freshness, aroma, and color a newly-picked vegetable has?
MILK CHOCOLATE GANACHE WITH MAGNO AND PEANUTS
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
The love for food, the love for cooking it and eating it and sharing it with others keeps me motivated. I’m certain this “flame” will never go out. We also have an open-kitchen and one thing I love doing is watching the expression of a diner right after they’ve tried the first bite of one of my dishes. They’re surprised, excited, shocked, and they go for another forkful...it’s absolutely priceless!
What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?
I don’t really follow trends in general, let alone in the kitchen! As I’ve already shared, one of my goals is keeping my cooking unique and true to who I am as a chef, so I try not to get too caught up in new trends.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
This job has recently been portrayed as very glamorous. I won’t dwell on how difficult this vocation is and how many sacrifices are necessary – I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. What I think is that you don’t really choose food and cooking, rather food and cooking choose you. To all those who are considering a career as a chef and are expecting celebrity and glamour: don’t spend your money on fancy courses or expensive chefs’ jackets and books. Instead, find a restaurant and spend a few weeks in a professional kitchen. I can assure you that 9 out of 10 people will rethink becoming a chef!
ANDREA MIGLIACCIO
Born on the island of Ischia in the gulf of Naples, Andrea was raised in a wholesome state of nature. This was where at a very early age he developed his tastes and quickly learned to appreciate his environment and its ingredients, to preserve them and to cook with them. It was his early childhood that established the path which would lead him down the road to culinary success.
Andrea is a talented young chef who has been Executive Chef at L’Olivo, the Gourmet Restaurant of the Capri Palace Hotel since 2011. He entered the “crème de la crème” of the Italian cuisine gaining two Michelin stars, confirming and strengthening the prestige that the restaurant had earned with Chef Oliver Glowing previously in charge and for whom Andrea was sous-chef.
His ideas of cuisine is inspired by clear and simple principles: innovation and tradition, with an emphasis on Mediterranean flavours that have surrounded Andrea throughout his life. He gives ingredients the central role by selecting only the best and respecting the seasonal cycles without betraying their origin. Andrea is also particularly keen on artistry presentation in the decoration of every dish, which is not self-referential but complete the creative gesture as a gift to aesthetic and good taste.
Andrea has led the kitchen brigade at Il Riccio Restaurant & Beach Club, just steps from the Blue Grotto, since its opening in 2009, contributing to the achievement of its first Michelin star in 2013 before passing the leadership of Il Riccio to Chef Salvatore Elefante. Since 2011, Andrea has successfully been working across the border in Zermatt at the Capri Restaurant of the Mont Cervin Luxury Hotel which has proudly been awarded its first Michelin star. From 2013 to 2015, Andrea was the Executive Chef of Larte in Milan, an innovative restaurant expressing the best of Italian lifestyle mixing food and art, great wines, design, culture and fashion. Since 2016, Andrea has also been the Executive Chef of the new Assaje, Aldrovandi Villa Borghese Hotel in Rome.
He is the driving-inspiration providing recipes, the atmosphere, kitchen organization and managing the talent. For him, it is the executive chef’s responsibility to make it perfect every day. By surrounding himself with the best talent, he has achieved a high level of customer appreciation and prestigious awards from the major culinary guides over the years.
The Art of Andrea and his team reinterprets the traditional local cuisine in a modern way with a service that strives for excellence. A choral journey, in which every single individual can express his talent, knowing.
EX.IT catches up with Andrea Migliaccio…
It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up. Tell us how you found your way into the culinary field…
My biggest source of inspiration has been my grandmother who taught me the passion and love for cooking. I started cooking when I was 9, helping my grandmother prepare our traditional Sunday lunches. There I discovered the local ingredients that are the basis of the Mediterranean cuisine, tomatoes, aubergines, olive oil, basil, and seasonal fish. I learned how to cook ‘parmigina alla melanzane’ (fried aubergines with mozzarella cheese) and rabbit just to name a few. She also taught me the importance of fresh ingredients and how to highlight their taste which is achieved by cooking them in the simplest way possible so that their flavours can be truly appreciated.
Your cuisine is inspired innovation and tradition, with an emphasis on Mediterranean flavours…
Simply by always using fresh and seasonal ingredients. My cuisine is Mediterranean, which offers a wide range of exquisite ingredients, from fresh fish, to vegetables, the combination already makes the perfect balance.
Your previous experience which helped to form who you are as a chef today?
All my previous experiences taught me a lot. I had the fortune to work with many different chefs who taught me the attention to detail and precision. After each experience, I would bring with me the teachings and the different techniques acquired. I cannot name a single experience because my career and success are a product of all the teachings I received in the past years.
Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process of creating a new dish…
When I create a dish, the first thing I do is pick seasonal ingredients. The Mediterranean cuisine has so much to offer, that diversity isn’t an issue. Then I try to find the best way to combine and balance these new ingredients, and finally I finish it off with a touch of fun to make the presentation live up to the ingredients present. My inspiration always comes from the Neapolitan tradition which is so rich in terms of gastronomy.
Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredients…
I am now studying different preparations for blue fish which contains a lot of Omega 3. It is a very interesting ingredient and is also very healthy!
I like to work with fresh pasta, and I enjoy trying to combine it with different ways of cooking fish, trying to give my plate a more contemporary feel.
Special cooking techniques…
I enjoy cooking at low temperatures as well as the vacuum technique. These are the two techniques I am testing at the moment.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
All three are fundamental, but passion should be the guiding force.
Your greatest influence in the kitchen…
My relationship with my team, and how we work together to achieve great results.
What keeps you motivated?
To always do better. I am a perfectionist. And I would like all of our restaurants to have the deserved recognitions. Then obviously my team, I want to see them grow and become the great chefs of tomorrow.
What do you do to stay on top of the new cooking trends?
I keep trying different restaurants and keep myself updated on new cooking techniques as well as checking out what my colleagues are also doing. With my job I have the fortune of travelling a lot which gives me the possibility to try different cuisines, techniques and ingredients. One has to be aware of what happens outside your kitchen doors.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…
To be humble, and to enjoy what they are doing. If you do not put passion and love into cooking, then you are doomed to failure before starting.
L’OLIVO
TEMPTATION ROOM
ALESSANDRO COZZOLINO
Hailing from Caserta, Campania, Chef Alessandro has an endless passion for gastronomy. For him, cooking is about bringing people together to savour the comforting flavours of home cooking. He enjoys being innovative whilst respecting culinary tradition.
With an impressive collection of Italian restaurants and the reputable Michelin star chefs, Alessandro has learnt his craft from Emanuele Mazzella at Vespasia in Umbria, Corrado Corti at the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, Trovato at Arnolfo Ristorante in Siena and Nino Di Costanzo at Il Mosaico in Ischia.
EX.IT catches up with Alessandro Cozzolino…
Chefs find their passion for cooking… how you found your way into the culinary field to become one of the most sought-after chef!
Let’s say that since childhood I have had this kind and hospitable character that made me special to my mother and my grandmother. I always helped them in the kitchen when I was not playing with my friends. I enjoyed cooking with them so much and talking about the small but very important rules for the success of “simple” pasta or any kind of home recipes. But I found my real gastronomic path when I was lucky enough to be part of the brigades of important chefs.
In those kitchens there was only passion, we all believed in high gastronomy and sacrificed everything to improve technically and tastefully. I have to thank my masters who gave me the opportunity to enter their kitchens and consequently fuel my passion for high gastronomy.
Your cuisine focused and inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced…
I always start from my origins, from childhood flavors reproduced with insights garnered from my experience. Obviously the producers also play an important role in all of this. Only by selecting the best ingredients, consistent and refined, are we able to create elaborate ideas and dishes.
Your previous experience which helped to form who you are as a chef today?
I have had many important teachers who, beyond their prestige, are also great men… they have always taught me with respect and honesty and very importantly, they have supported my every step.
I can quote you some names so you can understand how I grew up. Everything starts in England where I met a great boy and now Michelin-starred chef Emanuele Mazzella. Through him I landed in Tuscany with Gaetano Trovato at Relais & Chateaux Arnolfo (two Michelin stars) after a time with Norbert Niederkofler (three Michelin stars) at Alta Badia. After that, I went to Ischia with Nino Di Costanzo (two Michelin stars), Regis Marcon (three Michelin stars) in France, Benoit Vidal (two Michelin stars) at the Atelier d’Edmond and as a last experience before leaving for Hong Kong, Corrado Corti at the wonderful Splendido Portofino.
Let’s say that I have mentioned the most significant, but there are others that I have frequented and collaborated with in the meantime that have all played an important role in my growth.
LA MONTANARA, RICOTTA, SCAMPI, SFUSATO AMALFITANO FRIED MONTANARA DOUGH, SCAMPI, RICOTTA , AMALFI LEMON
CANNELLONI ALLA NERANO, ASTICE, BASILICO HOMEMADE CANNELLONI, LOBSTER, ZUCCHINI
Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process you go through to creating a new dish…
The philosophy is... Traditional flavors with refined technique. The process always begins by thinking first of the taste, by studying the great ingredients that the season and the market offers, then together with my team we work on the consistencies and the way to make each element intriguing. Finally comes the aesthetic aspect which is also very important, because it will then make each element of the dish a protagonist in taste.
What new ingredient inspires you, your favorite ingredient and ingredients that you weren’t able to master?
Personally I have always been in love with citrus. I love to use any kind of citrus fruit that can give that lightly refreshing taste to each dish. I am very open minded, I like to see what the world offers and when I find something interesting I cannot stop thinking about it and the ways to give it value.
The favorite is seafood… especially crustaceans.
Not really. Some wild game is not really to my taste, but in the past I have always tried to propose it by respecting the technique.
In the past years how has Italian cuisine changed?
Italian cuisine changes every day. I think that all chefs are continuously evolving and learning, sharing ideas with colleagues and trying to be original with their cooking.
Sometimes, at different locations around the world, you can find Italian restaurants serving dishes inspired by different cultures, but usually strong Italian chefs believe in their tradition and identity.
Produce, Creativity or Technique…
Creativity with the right amount of technique… my culinary view is not based only on technique but on the emotion that each ingredient, each guest and each team member gives me every day. That emotion generates my creativity.
What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?
My dreams… I have dreams that I am pushing to achieve.
What can guests expect from your restaurant?
We have two different kinds of guests. At lunch we have business guests, when the restaurant has a more lounge atmosphere and our guests discuss work contracts or maybe enjoy their lunch break by eating one or two à la carte dishes. In the evening the atmosphere is more relaxed, everyone comes for an experience, be it gastronomic, a celebration or anything else. Our customers prefer the tasting menu, they enjoy the atmosphere and the view of Victoria Habour.
Your advice to the new generation of Italian chefs?
I consider myself part of the new generation since I am still under 30, so the advice that I give to myself every day is to persevere with love and passion for fine dining cuisine.
Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time …
Be humble and believe in your dreams.
GRISSINI
