Biography

In 1975 I was born on the breathtakingly beautiful Sorrento peninsula, in the town of Vico Equense, and of my 34 years at least 19 have been spent in kitchens. My father was a chef de cuisine, and you could say that I too have been a cook since I was born ! I could do no other job, the last 19 years have been marked by great passion, and I think that most of my strength is down to a constant feeling of starting all over again from the point I have reached.

It's a continuous challenge, like a fire burning inside. My research is also reflected in my compulsive search for the right raw materials and products, with passion, sacrifice, determination and absolute devotion to the job.

I have gained invaluable experience in restaurants rated with three Michelin stars in France, such as the Auberge de l'Ill at Illhaeusern, and Buerehiesel in Strasbourg, and also in the kitchens of the renowned Grand Hotel Quisisana at Capri. I have been on Lake Orta for 9 years now, running this superb 19th century villa hotel and restaurant with my wife, Cinzia.

Philosophy

Cooking is an expression of the essence of life and as such it is incessant, continuous research, study and consequent growth. The same dish can evolve after a period of time, just as I myself change every day.

I try to take the raw material to its very essence and to enhance it by achieving balance with a few other ingredients. I like those dining at my table to feel definite emotion and I wish to convey authentic feeling though my cooking, through the taste and flavor, through my creativity.

A dish may be tradition revisited or something entirely new that I felt for a specific ingredient at a particular moment in time. The perpetual evolution of form, color and flavour. You let yourself go, allow yourself to be guided.

I personally think of myself as something of a revolutionary, thanks to the rapidity with which I renew recipes, techniques and ideas.