Lifestyle
Mario Salluzzi
boys who wish to enter. “They all say they are 21, even if they are only 15!” he says. Pirina, who has the attentive eye of Sherlock Holmes, learned to distinguish false identity cards with record speed. Once inside the club, Romano Santin, from Pordenone, decides the strategic location of each of the tables. As in heaven (according to Dante’s La Divina Commedia, The Divine Comedy) the closer one gets to the DJ, the higher level of success he has achieved in paradise. Tender is the night for Andrea Gambardella of Amalfi, the Palace’s tireless night porter for at least three decades. His trademark upturned black moustache assures he is never missed. Gambardella has a reputation of filling any and all requests at any hour of the night. He spends the off-season in Paris with his lovely French wife. Luciano Ferrigolo, from Abano Terme, is the heart and soul of the Grand Hotel Park. He arrived as a young waiter, work-
Luciano Ferrigolo
Paulo Quattrocchi and Giuseppe Colella
ing his way up to concierge. Although he’s officially at retirement age, Ferrigolo shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. And what would the Park be without him? Like the peak of Wispile without its mountain firs. The hotel’s most loyal clientele puts itself directly in his hands. The secret of a good concierge? “Knowing how to keep a secret as a priest would,” Ferrigolo smiles. The Park’s other veteran concierge is Paolo Delvai, from Trento. In his spare time he likes to restore old homes. More Italian is spoken at the bar with Paolo Quattrocchi, from Padova, who pours a mean Bellini. La bella lingua continues straight into the kitchen, where award-winning Chef Giuseppe Colella from Ischia prepares the stuff culinary dreams are made of. His scialatielli with seafood is a wonder, and wonderfully known in the region. Working round-the-clock in season might be strenuous, but then again there are advantages. In the off-season, staff has the time to cultivate their hobbies. Gennaro Carrozza, from Naples, has worked for the “Golden Triangle” (Gstaad Palace, Eagle Club and Grand Hotel Park), and from next season on he will be the Maître D’Hôtel at The Alpina Gstaad. During his free time, Carozza is an expert underwater diving instructor. He accompanies his customers from Gstaad to Naples to visit the Roman port, mosaics and statues of the Nymphaeum, which is practically an underwater Pompeii. His friend Franco Paloschi, hails from Sardinia. He will, after a quarter-century as Maître D’Hôtel at the Palace, move on to The Alpina Gstaad.
Next there’s Massimo Nava, pillar of the Hotel Olden. He adores picking mushrooms, and it’s no surprise his polenta with porcini is a hit with Italian guests. Nava has two distinct styles of shaking cocktails, which he will happily perform for guests upon request. Don’t see anything on the bar menu which inspires? Nava can take one look at a guest, ask a few simple questions, and create a fanciful bespoke drink to whet any whistle. Also at home here is Mario Salluzzi, the Olden’s chansonnier who has sung “O Sole Mio” for the many celebrities passing through Gstaad, including Roger Moore and Elizabeth Taylor. Last but not least, we salute entrepreneurial partners Emidio Medda and Fabrizio Contu. After two decades at the Grand Hotel Park, they opened their cosy trattoria, Le Braconnier, in Rougemont. As this sampling reveals, when it comes to service, no one beats the Italians. As they say in Italy, “Grazie, prego, ritornerò!“
Paulo Delvai
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