PASSION FOR COOOKING - RESPECT FOR FOOD By Melissa Walsh With another chefs hat awarded to Terminus for the fourth consecutive year, Flinders Hotel head chef Giuseppe Pisciotta takes it all in his stride, remaining passionate about cuisine and inspired by his Italian upbringing. Born in 1981 in a small town called Mazara Del Valla, in the region of Palermo, Sicily, Giuseppe grew up surrounded by food with his mum and Nona teaching him how to make pasta, and quickly becoming the biggest influence in his life. “My best memories are at home when my Nona and mum would show me how to make pasta, and eating food was a time when everyone would come together and enjoy each other’s company,” says Giuseppe. “It made me want to be a chef and gave me a strong passion for cooking,
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2015
and sharing this experience with other people. It all started when I was three years old. My Nona just loved food and her thing was to keep all the family together around the table. I will never forget the smell of the sauces in the morning and the fresh baked bread. Nona would call me at 6am and my cousins and I would make bread with her.” Although a far cry from southern Italy, Giuseppe has continued his family tradition of cooking right here on the Mornington Peninsula, after coming to Australia for a holiday five years ago, and deciding to stay. “I did my apprenticeships in local restaurants in Italy, as by that stage the family had moved to Milan. My most memorable time was at Camp di Cent
Pertigh, a famous restaurant in a 16th century farmhouse, between Milan and Como,” says Giuseppe.
These days, 34-year-old Giuseppe calls the peninsula his home, and has settled into the relaxed lifestyle beautifully.
Learning to cook with his family, and growing vegetables and meat on the farm, combined with classic Italian training was the best education, young Giuseppe could have asked for, but he still dreamed of working further afield and loved watching other chefs create and learning from them.
“I start my days going for a run along the beach or taking my two dogs for a walk, and love working in Flinders,” says the chef who has been working at the hotel for two years, and become an integral factor behind the success of Terminus, embracing his role as head chef and continuing to inspire his team with creative culinary flare.
“I worked in Michelin star restaurants and was able to learn from famous executive chefs like Carlo Cracco and Claudio Sadler, and when I came to Melbourne, worked at Caffe é Cuccina, Caffe Baci and Atlantic restaurant at Crown Casino, and Piazza San Marco as a business partner.”
“We have a great kitchen garden and we all love going out and foraging for fresh produce to cook the day’s meals with. It is important to have respect for all the ingredients we work with, from the fruit and vegetables to the meat which a farmer has had to nurture,” says Giuseppe bayside & mornington peninsula