As a child, my parents would often take me to restaurants. I would stand at the kitchen door and watch the action, the rhythm and flow of chefs working together to create each dish. When I graduated from culinary school in 1989, I decided to work for the best, Gualtiero Marchesi, considered the founder of modern Italian cuisine. I immediately felt at home.

Tradition is important, but if you stick to the old ways you’ll never change. As a chef, I want to create flavourful dishes with immediate impact, using the freshest, finest ingredients available.

Quality and freshness are the most important elements when I’m choosing ingredients. Italian olive oil, of course, aged Grana Padano, the aged Carnaroli rice from Piedmont, I prefer for my risotto, Taggiasca olives from Liguria, the small oval tomatoes we call Datterini or little dates for their sweet taste, and capers from Sicily.

His ambition is to deliver dining experiences on par with Sydney’s best, with a fresh approach to hotel dining, a focus on healthy options and fresh local produce, and a push towards celebrating homemade, with in-house pickling, curing and preserving, as well as cooking on a robata grill.