Giorgio Locatelli 1

BY admin

Using his Italian roots, Giorgio Locatelli started working in his uncles Michelin star restaurant aged just 5 and has never looked back

Early career

Born into a cooking dynasty on the banks of Lake Como in Italy, it was on the cards from an early age that Giorgio would follow the family tradition and become a chef. It is rumoured that at the age of just five he was already helping out in his uncle’s Michelin star restaurant. Giorgio was keen to make his own way though, and travelled to London where he did a 4 year apprenticeship at The Savoy. Stints in Paris and 4 years as Head Chef at Zafferano in London’s Belgravia followed. He opened his own restaurant, Locanda Locatelli in London, with his wife Plaxy, in 2002. Giorgio gained his Michelin star in 2003, just a year after the restaurant opened.

Giorgio Locatelli 2

 

Into the spotlight

‘Pure Italian’ was Giorgio’s first TV show, made in 2002 and aired on the UK Food channel. Three further series for BBC2 then followed: ‘Tony and Giorgio’, filmed with entrepreneur Tony Allan, ‘Sicily Unpacked’ and ‘Italy Unpacked’; both accompanied by art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon.

‘Tony and Giorgio’ had a book to accompany the series and Giorgio’s own cookery books were published to critical and public acclaim. Made in Italy, was published in September 2006 with Made in Sicily coming out in September 2011.

Giorgio Locatelli 3

Giorgio Locatelli today

Retaining a Michelin star each year since 2003, Giorgio remains Chef Patron at Locanda Locatelli, and is considered by many to be the best Italian Chef in the UK, if not the world. A second series of ‘Italy Unpacked’ was aired in January 2014 with Giorgio again exploring the culinary traditions of his country of birth.

0 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read More