Giorgio Locatelli

Giorgio Locatelli is a well known Italian chef working in the United Kingdom.

Biography

Early life

Giorgio Locatelli was born and brought up in the village of Corgeno, in the North of Italy in 1963. His family ran a Michelin starred restaurant, La Cinzianella in their hometown. He worked at the family restaurant as soon as he was old enough - this was where he got his first taste of an industrial kitchen. He later also worked in Switzerland before arriving in the United Kingdom in 1985 and spent four years working at London’s Savoy Hotel under chef Anton Edelmann.

Professional career

Locatelli then moved to Paris and worked briefly at Tour d'Argent as well as Laurent. He returned to London afterwards to be head chef of Olivo for three years, where he served up Italian peasant cooking.

He worked as a consultant for the Red Pepper Italian restaurant that opened in 1994 before becoming chef-patron of A-Z Restaurant’s Zafferano in Knightsbridge. He was head chef at Zafferano in London for seven years but left due to a falling out with A-Z. But it was Zafferano (meaning saffron) that gained Locatelli his international reputation and his first Michelin star – also the Best Italian Restaurant award for two years running in the Carlton London Restaurant Awards. Throughout his tenure with A-Z, he also masterminded and opened Spighetta and Spiga pizza and pasta restaurant in 1997.

After making an acrimonious exit from A-Z, he acted as a consultant for Park Plaza Restaurant Group’s Cecconi’s restaurant, which opened in early 2001.

In 2002 he opened his first independent venture Locanda Locatelli, which he co-owns together with his wife, Plaxy Locatelli. Locatelli has said that this restaurant is very personal to them and it is like an extension of their family.

Locanda Locatelli quickly took over as one of the hottest Italian restaurants in town. It gained a Michelin star in 2003. As well as offering modern Italian cuisine – which is characterised by freshness of produce (a lot of it is imported from Italy) and flavour – its large family-friendly tables underscore the Italian love of children and conviviality [http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2006/09/21/308906/giorgio-locatelli.html "Giorgio Locatelli". Retrieved 14 February 2007.] .

In 2004, Locatelli consulted on another restaurant called Refettorio at the Crowne Plaza near Blackfriars Bridge with Parallel. Refettorio was opened as a division of contract with caterer Aramark to run the 200-bedroom hotel’s food and beverage operation for three years. Parallel pulled out of the venture in July 2006, but Locatelli remained as consultant dealing directly with Crowne Plaza. He consults at this restaurant until today.

Anton Edelmann once described the flamboyant Locatelli as “probably the best Italian chef in London” and his appraisal is vindicated by the 30 or so awards and accolades Locatelli has collected in the past twelve years. He has been involved with a total of eight Italian restaurants in the capital.

Locatelli first achieved TV celebrity status in 2001, when he worked with Fish! founder Tony Allan on the TV series Tony and Giorgio. He also co-authored the accompanying book.

Locatelli’s talent has been acknowledged many times by his native country – of particular note, the Accademia Italiana della Cucina awarded him a Diploma di Buona Cucina in 2002, followed by a Diploma di Cucina Eccellente in 2003.

Locatelli’s second book, "Made In Italy", was published in September 2006. It has won several book awards and is being translated in several languages worldwide. The book has received many favorable reviews including one from Nigel Slater who said "my book of the year... puts everything else I have on my Italian shelf in the shade".Fact|date=July 2008

Locatelli will act as consultant on a new restaurant named "Ronda Locatelli"opened in September 2008. The traditional Italian style restaurant will open within the "Atlantis" hotel resort which is located on the Palm Islands at the coast of Dubai. The restaurant will feature open kitchens and a huge wood fired oven.

Personal life

He lives in Camden, London with his wife Plaxy, son Jack, and daughter Margherita (Dita).

External links

* [http://www.locandalocatelli.com/ Homepage for the Locanda Locatelli restaurant]
* [http://www.refettorio.com/ Homepage for the Refettorio restaurant]
*

References