How would you describe yourself?
I don’t think it is a good idea to describe myself. Professionally, I could say I am a cook dedicated to creative cookery and offering a good gastronomic experience. My principle is to always go that bit further. I am a father, a son, a brother and a friend. My sensitivity and values are inevitably reflected in my work.
What is the culinary process for one of your classic creations?
The first thing to do is have an idea. This idea can assume different values but it is only its essence that is the real driver in creating something new. A product alone is rarely the generator of innovation. I am not someone who is easily satisfied, I expect a lot of myself, I always want more.
What is your biggest source of inspiration?
Today the world offers vast numbers of sources of inspiration but my strongest muse is inside myself. I am a great observer, I look deeply into the landscape that surrounds me and try and find in it the basis on which to construct my ideas. The secret is all in here, the fruit of my experience, of what I have done and of what I have learned.
When you were small you spent a lot of time in your family’s fashion business, with your mother and grandmother. How come you didn’t follow in their footsteps?
That is a very creative occupation, my mother and grandmother were dressmakers with talent to spare; it was probably they that gave me a passion for fashion. I do in any case try and follow current trends. I would have liked to have become a fashion designer, perhaps one day I will launch my own brand of clothing, why not, who knows what the future holds!
To which fashion designers, whether they be Italian or not, would you dedicate a dish?
Please don’t ask me to choose a designer. Every designer I admire is pure inspiration for me. If I had to dedicate a dish to every one of them, I would have to prepare a menu of at least 40 different dishes.
