FEATURE STORY
May 2022 Gulf Gourmet
PIZZA, PASTA,
PASSION
Few communities believe in the importance of food to the celebration of culture like the Italians do. This is why cooking straight from the heart comes naturally to Chef Andrea Fioravanti. The executive chef of Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah has a way of turning the simple act of cooking into a celebration of life, love and community...
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talians cook with love. Which explains why their cuisine is bursting with evidences of it – the love of natural produce, the love of food, the love of people and culture, in short, the love of life and everything it has to offer. Chef Andrea Fioravanti’s friendly smile and easy-going demeanour embodies the principles of his native country’s flair for hospitality. The executive chef of Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah has much to offer...and he does. The 46-year-old chef runs a team of around 80 chefs and stewards, catering to seven outlets at the Waldorf Astoria including the Palm Avenue pool restaurant; Social by Heinz Beck, a Michelin-star Italian restaurant; Mezzerie all-day dining restaurant; the Upper Club, a VIP lounge; and Lao Vietnamese restaurant. In addition, they manage the hotel’s banqueting service, which has capacity to serve up to 600 guests. What is Chef Andrea’s story? An avid globetrotter, he has worked across continents in his career spanning more than two decades. Gulf Gourmet traces this fascinating journey with the Italian chef...
A LEGACY OF LOVE
Born in Nero, which lies about 50 kilometres from Rome, Chef Andrea had a passion for cooking right from childhood.
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School in Rieti, Italy in 1995. Then, he started his career with a job in London, working there for a while before returning to Italy.
My friends would be taking the whole summer off to relax, have fun and enjoy their holidays. But I never did. I enjoyed working even as a kid, doing odd jobs to learn about new things “My friends would be taking the whole summer off to relax, have fun and enjoy their holidays. But I never did. I enjoyed working even as a kid, doing odd jobs to learn about new things,” he says. He credits his family for his love of the culinary arts. “We Italians are known for our pizza, pasta and good Mediterranean food. My grandmother used to make pasta by hand. That is how we used to spend Sundays – surrounded by family with food at the centre of every gathering.” Knowing he wanted to make a career in hospitality, he obtained a degree from the Culinary and Hotel Management
His first and last job in Italy was at the Relais Le Jardin, a special catering service in Rome, where he managed a team of 13 people, which catered to more than 300 guests a day. Chef Andrea also learnt to make handmade pasta and pizza and fresh seafood dishes at the Relais Le Jardin. As someone who always dreamed of working abroad, he left for Spain around 1998. The chef spent as many as 16 years in the vibrant country. “I speak better Spanish now than Italian,” he laughs. “I started there as a pastry chef and chef de partie at the Hotel Port Salou.” Along the way, he fell in love with Barcelona, the city of good food, Gaudi architecture and art at every corner. Chef Andrea worked in several restaurants and hotels there, even dabbling in a teaching job at a private school. Barcelona also gave him his first role as an executive chef. Between 2007 and 2009, Chef Andrea was the executive chef at the Hotel Zenit, a boutique hotel with 71 rooms. Thereafter, he went on to play more exciting roles. At the Hotel Mas de
