The Story
Forty years of cooking, travels and wild ideas, told in the first person. No résumé: a timeline to walk through sideways, one stop at a time.
Make yourself comfortable. We start in 1978 →
The timeline
Seven stops, four continents, one obsession: never to be bored.
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Zafferana Etnea · Catania
At twenty I find myself in the historic hotel of Zafferana Etnea, on Catania's mountainside — the one belonging to my first wife's family. I learn the trade beside older chefs… and it's already not enough: I overhaul the management and, on the panoramic terrace, open the hotel's first Brazilian restaurant. My very first fusion gambles.
The sacrifice came at a price. The view didn't: that one was free.
Acireale · Sicily
I head back to my Acireale, city of the Baroque, and invent a concept all my own. The Risotteria Acese is born: an instant hit, even emerging musicians come to play. Then «Le Follie dell'Opera», inside a former bus depot — a kiosk, a stage, a counter of local produce. And finally Villa Paradiso dell'Etna: 14,000 sqm of madness, with a roller rink, two pizzerias and a restaurant seating 300.
Say no to an idea? I never managed it.
Fortaleza · Brazil
Too much of everything, perhaps too much exposure. So I let go and fly to Brazil. Fortaleza wins me over; I roam Colombia, Uruguay, the Amazon. I open «La Pannocchia», an Italian restaurant right in the centre. Fellow Italians arrive and ask me: «Chef, and where do we sleep?». I rent a villa with a pool and — without realising it — invent the area's first bed & breakfast. Then the Pousada Arara: ten rooms, always full.
A hotel born by accident. Usually the best kind.
Dakar · Kenya · gemstones
I fall for precious stones and, to do it seriously, I lock myself away for six months in a bank studying gemmology: eight hours a day, under key. I come out a certified appraiser — «Avaliador Claudio Trovato» — trading stones between Brazil and Italy. In between, Club Med calls me to Dakar to open the resort's restaurant, and for a year I'm the chef of a luxury casino in Kenya.
Rest? Never heard the word.
Malta · St. Julian's
I move back towards Europe. In Malta I take the helm of «La Dolce Vita», a refined seafood restaurant in St. Julian's: the Mediterranean takes centre stage again, between the freshest fish and sunsets over the harbour.
I'd missed the sea. And you could taste it.
Florence · Pisa · Elba Island
Back in Italy, the Uappala chain hands me several kitchens at once: I become supervisor of numerous restaurants across Florence, Pisa and the island of Elba, inside hotels and holiday resorts. I coordinate brigades, menus and quality standards — Tuscany becomes my training ground in organisation.
Just one kitchen? Too easy. They gave me plenty.
Armenia · Qatar · Marriott
I set off with the world again, this time with Marriott: first Armenia, then Qatar, where I stay ten years and watch a desert turn into a metropolis, all the way to the 2022 World Cup. At the Marriott Marquis I lead the restaurant «Cucina». I'm named Best Italian Chef in the Middle East and official ambassador of Italian cuisine, a UNESCO heritage.
Ten years in the Gulf. And a risotto that travelled the world.
The new chapter
The story isn't over: it has simply changed continent. I split my time between Mexico and Venice — and I'm already plotting the next gamble.
See what I do now