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Born in 1956 in a olives Water Mill, called Molino Delle Galere, where his Grandfather Giuseppe was running and overseeing the production of extra virgin olive oil. Since he was a young boy he fell in love with the world of rural life, farm produce and, of course, the extra virgin olive oil which oozed out from the hydraulic press with a fragrant and sharp smell in the 16th century old mill.
In the sixties until early seventies he was captured by the wisdom of country women in the mill, who showed and let him taste delectable, humble dishes created with their farm produce: Vegetables, cheese, poultry, olive oil and wine.
Extra virgin olive oil has been a mainstay in his cooking even when he was enrolled in the local Hotel and Restaurant School (Istituto Alberghiero) in Montecatini Terme, Italy. He often argued with teachers who wanted butter used instead of his favorite ingredient, Olive Oil which he considered more valuable than the regions wine.
After the school degree in 1976 he began climbing the steep ground of the culinary world. He worked in Geneva, St. Moritz, and in many restaurants throughout Italy. He worked as sous chef in San Francisco at Prego’s and head Chef at Bugatti in Omni International in Atlanta. In the 1980’s he provided his culinary expertise as an Executive Chef for a cruise line company gaining extensive insight and knowledge into international cuisine.
He returned to Italy in 1990 and since then, he is running a Bed and Breakfast near Montecatini, in Nievole, Italy, his birthplace. Having remodeled the old mill including a large professional kitchen, he teaches cooking classes that are planned throughout the year as well as customized programs that put an emphasis on our regional food /wine traditions , including : theme cooking, Tuscan country cooking , aesthetic presentation. Day courses as well as a week or longer courses are offered.
He is currently serving as a Professor and overseeing culinary and wines courses for U.S college students in a Study Abroad Program in Tuscany and lecturing on extra virgin olive oil and I.G.P Tuscan farm products at Georgetown and Syracuse Universities in Florence, Italy.
Chef Giuseppe is member of Italian Chefs’ Federation (F.I.C) and member of Les Toques Blanches International often participating in food promotions and conferences around the world always holding to his philosophy that “ eating is a discovery “ to be explored through creative experimentation with textures and flavors.
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