ANTONIO SALVATORE, EXECUTIVE CHEF

At 31, San Pellegrino Young Chef finalist Antonio Salvatore has already chalked up adventures enough for several lifetimes. From private cheffing for a jet setting Sheikh, to working at Juan Pablo Felipe’s Michelin starred El Chaflán in Madrid, to being head hunted by Italy’s famous Nino Graziano to run Semifreddo-Mulinazzo in Moscow. Not to mention his training in Rome, Florence, Milan, early work in London and the Canary islands or the life changing call from a Vatican ambassador which led him to Russia!

From the age of 12, Antonio was already working in restaurants in his home province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. A region famed for its food. He learned his trade from the ground up. At 14 he went to hotelerie school, spending every holiday working in kitchens across Italy, honing his craft. From there he rose through the ranks until he was working at internationally renowned Michelin starred restaurants. But he comes back to this: His culinary education is derived not just from his studies, but from the intimate knowledge of the natural process from vine to table acquired in the family garden.

Antonio cites Catalan’s Ferran Adrià, the molecular cooking innovator as a personal culinary hero. But it is Antonio’s own brand of ambitious innovation that he is now bringing to Monaco by the bucketful. “The competition is high. Monaco has the best the world has to offer. We want only the best at Rampoldi.” This attitude is seen throughout the entire culinary process. From his selection of the finest farm fresh regional products, to his artistry of presentation. “White and black truffles, foie gras, pigeon, fresh fish…simple flavours on the plate but always the best produce”.

Antonio is a chef concerned not just with the kitchen but with the restaurant business as a whole. He has the attention of the culinary world and if his track record is anything to go by, great things lie ahead.