ALESSANDRO MICELI
A
lessandro began cooking at the 14 in order to support his family. He did not want to be dependent on them and from day one, cooking was all about supporting the family. It was his duty to take care of his brother after school, while his mother was still at work. His earliest memory is standing on a wooden stool in front of the stove making tomato sauce for his picky brother. His mother told him to go study, and everyone pushed him to go into hospitality. He started off in the waiter’s section before being pulled aside by the principle and was told that the class was full. This led him to go to the chefs classes. To Alessandro’s surprise he found it very easy. As he had experience cooking at home and he excelled. Working was immediate as his main drive was to support and not be a burden on his family. He found the most exclusive restaurant in his town and went knocking on their door, he was offered to work 6 months for free, in a restaurant 13 kilometres out of town. Worked to the bone but his efforts paid off and was told to work in the pasta section of the kitchen and he ended up making more money than his father. From then on it was working under only the best chefs and restaurants.
ALESSANDRO MICELI 78 - WG May 2019
His influence to food is due to his hard work in Italy and a strong identity, as he sees the world becoming more global where one can find Italian delicacies like truffle and burrata everywhere. Alessandro incorporates a lot of Italian products with little contamination in his cuisine. He finds this globalization positive yet negative and feels that as an Italian he is losing this identity. He tries to keep his Italian identity close. Some small things may come into the dishes from different parts of the world but only as extra elements as he always keeps his dishes strongly Italian, but not opposed to adding a foreign element, for example: Izzo on Scallops.