Since joining the team in 2009, Fulvio Pierangelini, Creative Director of Food for Rocco Forte Hotels has transformed the culinary offering, creating innovative Italian menus and sensational dishes using the simplest ingredients.
It’s hard to see him in any other light than as the finest chef in Italy. But a very young Fulvio Pierangelini started out as a labourer, night porter and a sailing instructor before moving to a professional kitchen and discovering his natural talent. “In addition to my first cooking lessons, I learnt how to cook over an open flame with master chefs, cooking fillets with green pepper, crêpes suzettes and flambé bananas in front of the guests. I couldn't have wished for more.”
His experience at Mougins, Roger Vergé’s celebrated restaurant on the Côte d'Azur, was fundamental to his learning. “Christian Morisset, Roger's second in command, took me under his wing. I owe a large part of my training to him. I would go as far as saying it was the ideal way to learn to cook.” In 1980, with a combination of bravery and a touch of recklessness, Fulvio took over a modest restaurant on the port, Il Gambero Rosso. It became a wonderful adventure, lasting about thirty years and leading him to the very top of the world of restaurants. In creating this shrine to cooking, the dream of a Roman boy who just wanted to cook came true. “I realise that I have a natural talent which I can’t take credit for. I also have a good knowledge of produce and raw ingredients thanks to the way I’ve always eaten with my family.”
The first restaurant listed in all the guidebooks, consistently placed at the top of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Il Gambero Rosso marked the rise of Fulvio Pierangelini in the firmament of starred chefs. His beloved seaside restaurant in San Vincenzo, in the province of Livorno, has hosted the greatest international chefs, who claimed Fulvio’s spaghetti with tomato sauce as the king of simple and sincere Italian cuisine. The restaurant was then closed, quite suddenly, by Chef Fulvio himself at the height of his success – “I went away, I have no regrets, no remorse, that's okay” – leaving a bitter taste for those who hadn’t had the chance to try it. “For Heston Blumenthal, who had never been able to come and eat with me, but had expressed an interest in my cooking, I reopened the restaurant for a day and he wrote me a wonderful letter that I still have and cherish greatly.”
Fulvio Pierangelini has become famous the world over for his award-winning restaurant by the sea. Il Gambero Rosso held two Michelin stars until 2008. Now Fulvio is loved for his cooking courses and recipes which capture the essence of a flavour, rather than using precise measurements. The chef’s creative personality and charisma, combined with his in-depth knowledge of raw ingredients, have fuelled his global success. Called the best chef in Italy by the "Il Gambero Rosso" guide (with a score of 96/100), and praised by national and international food critics alike, Fulvio simply loves to create and share good food. Today, he does exactly that through his role as Creative Director of Food of Rocco Forte Hotels bars and restaurants. His signature dish remains his renowned chickpea and prawn puree. However, he is also famous for including pasta with tomato sauce on the menu at Il Gambero Rosso, proving that food worthy of a Michelin star doesn’t need to be complicated.
As soon as his restaurant closed, Chef Fulvio proclaimed himself a “chef in exile”. It’s easy to understand why he craved the freedom to continue on his eternal journey in exploring the value of ingredients and flavours. To him, we owe a whole series of dishes that have found their maximum expression in simplicity. Italian cuisine would certainly not be the same without his interpretation.
As Creative Director of Food, Fulvio Pierangelini is responsible for the design of the menus at the restaurants of Hotel Savoy, Hotel de Russie, Verdura Resort, Hotel de La Ville, Masseria Torre Maizza, Villa Igiea and Hotel Amigo. In the Italian restaurants at Rocco Forte Hotels, he focuses the menus on the ingredients and flavours of each region. Each restaurant has its own identity and individual story to tell. Through his culinary expertise, Fulvio ensures that the restaurants feel related to each other through the dishes they serve. “Being a cook for me also means developing good food. I am very proud of my role at Rocco Forte Hotels as it allows me to teach what I’ve learned through a lifetime of cooking and share it with hundreds of people who work together for a common goal”.
“Simplicity is the point of arrival. This has been at the heart of what I do for over 40 years”. According to Chef Fulvio, good cooking is a series of small gestures, never too fussy or overcomplicated, which is why the future of his cuisine continues his life’s work, focusing on exceptional raw ingredients combined with excellent technical research. Sustainability is also fundamental and has always been there in his cooking. The intention of both Chef Fulvio and Rocco Forte Hotels is to offer an all-encompassing experience that makes the guest feel at home, in every room of the hotel, consolidating the reputation of Rocco Forte Hotels’ cuisine around the world. Food must instil a strong sense of identity in the story of each single address in the collection, promoting community and the search for soulful experiences.
“Simplicity is the point of arrival. This has been at the heart of my mission for over 40 years.”
Chef Fulvio and Sir Rocco first met at Il Gambero Rosso. It was the start of a relationship of mutual respect and collaboration, a shared knowledge and passion for food, as well as a strong intuition for talent. Chef Fulvio likes to define Sir Rocco as: “a lover of quality. A formidable talent scout who discovered a young chef like Marco Pierre White, now considered the greatest British chef of all time, helping him to earn his three Michelin stars.” Sir Rocco was able to appreciate the apparent simplicity of Fulvio's dishes and the truths they can tell, giving way to a strong relationship that has been going strong for over 15 years.
Chef Fulvio strongly believes in the "wonderfully imprecise", "my dream is that the dish must arrive on the table frank and sincere, without showing any effort in the execution." According to his gastronomic philosophy, it’s important to keep in mind where you are, by highlighting the distinctiveness of each location. The food in the hotels has an absolute relevance, and in agreement with Sir Rocco Forte, Chef Fulvio decided to push the potential of each restaurant to the maximum. “We both want all the food, from the first breakfast croissant to the last chocolate offered at night, to be at a level of an unrivalled quality. For us both, the experience must be total and every moment lived in the hotel... simply wonderful.”
“Luxury in the kitchen is knowing how to choose exceptional raw materials and treat them with respect.”
“Luxury in the kitchen is knowing how to choose exceptional raw materials and treat them with respect.” Chef Fulvio focuses on the quality of the ingredients and the simplicity of execution. According to him, a dish is best served with attention to the smallest details but without any overarching structure, enhancing the benefits that a destination can offer. For him, “the most important phase in approaching a new location is the discovery of the place itself and the people who live there. They can provide splendid products to feel, fall in love with and cook.” It’s from this concept that the idea of planting trees and producing vegetables using organic methods was born – as seen at Verdura Resort and Torre Maizza – with the aim of becoming self-sufficient. As Cicero said, “If you have a vegetable garden next to a library, you will need nothing else.”
Revelling in Roman influences and ingredients, Chef Fulvio Pierangelini’s gourmet a la carte menu showcases a tantalising array of local dishes, including “cacio e pepe” ravioli, fresh tomato and basil spaghetti, and grilled sea bass with Himalayan pink salt.
From dusk till dawn, our glamorous rooftop terrace is the ultimate hot-spot from which to admire the Eternal City’s historic skyline. Explore and discover a new gastronomic concept at Cielo, matched by unrivalled views across the rooftops of Rome.
Travel through time to the peak of the Belle Époque in Palermo, where the Florio family’s most distinguished guests would have dined in this original Louis XVI hall.
Fulvio Pierangelini has created an outstanding menu with our Executive Chef, showcasing the abundant natural produce of the island – olive oil, oranges, lemons, freshly caught fish, tomatoes and much more – accompanied by a fine selection of Sicilian and International wines.
Best known for his two Michelin-starred restaurant Gambero Rosso in San Vincenzo, Fulvio Pierangelini has worked with our head chef Giovanni Cosmai and Florence’s best, local suppliers to create a menu based on the Tuscan classics.
Set in the former stables of the masseria, Carosello’s high, whitewashed ceilings, rustic pews and garden views combine for an
elegant, authentic ambience. Director of Food Fulvio Pierangelini designed a menu focusing on traditional dishes and the use of the finest local produce with the aim of creating new emotions.
There’s Italian food, and then there’s honest, authentic Italian cuisine as envisioned by the Maestro, Fulvio Pierangelini.