Giuseppe Zanotti

by Dr. Iain Corness

The chef in charge of the Dusit Resort’s The Bay restaurant is Giuseppe Zanotti, a very self assured young man, and with a name like that he would have to be Italian! Add to that mental picture, the dark hair, the sideburns, the hands that move all the time, and the expression “allora” which punctuates every sentence. Giuseppe is just about as Italian as Leonardo da Vinci, and he even mentioned Leonardo’s famous “La Gioconda” while describing Italian cuisine!
Giuseppe was born in Fiorenzuola d’Arna in the province of Piacenza, and he wrote it all in my notebook, to make sure I got it right. His father owned a crash repair shop, whilst his mother was a nurse. Zanotti Senior was happy in his planning for the young boy to enter the family business after he grew up, but Giuseppe had other ideas. By the time he was 10 years old, he wanted to cook. “I thank Mamma. Italian women could always cook, but my father give me many, many problems.”
He would go and work in hotel kitchens during his school holidays and was not put off by his first job which he said was peeling 50 kg of potatoes. His second job he described as “Look first, then learn to clean!” In fact, the hardships endured by a young man with an ambition to be a chef were a good thing, according to Giuseppe. “You get more experience in life and your job. It is better if your schooling is hard. It’s an ‘old school’ approach, working 12-13 hours a day.”
When he finished grade school he entered a cooking school near Parma and worked hard there too. However, he knew that he had a long way to go, even after graduation. “You get a diploma, but you are a chef on paper only.”
We took a little break from the interview, as to lend authenticity to this Local Personality piece, Giuseppe had prepared a meal for us, so that I could try his food as well as pry into his past and future. The sea scallops with bell pepper, mixed seafood salad and lobster sauce, was just sensational. He is by now, much more than a chef on paper!
Initially he worked only in Italy, doing the seasons – the north of Italy during the winter and the south in summer. For a young man, this was a time of learning, and long hours again. Add to that, when working six month seasons, you get no days off.
It was then time to get out of his homeland, and since the ability to cook is probably one of the world’s foremost portable skills, he took himself off to Greece where he worked in a five star hotel restaurant, learning something about Greek cuisine, and even more about Greek ladies. With Giuseppe’s flashing dark eyes and broad grin revealing pearly white teeth, he certainly has the appearance of a Lothario in the classical Don Juan, Casanova and Romeo mode.
From Greece, the tropical paradise of the Maldives seemed to have everything a young man might want, but he soon found out that small tropical islands can become exceptionally boring small tropical islands, very quickly. It was time to move on again, after seven months.
To where? To Paris. “It was important for me to learn. It was a large restaurant with four chef de partie, and 12 commi-chefs. It was there that he even got to cook for Madonna and the Russian premier Putin. However, while gaining all this experience in Nouvelle Cuisine, he found that living in Paris was very expensive, and eventually he returned to his native Italy to work in another 4-5 star hotel, where he began to become even more creative with his native dishes, after meeting up with some very different ingredients. He then launched forth with his opinion on Thai Red Basil. “For me it’s fantastic, that’s why I use it. The Thais, the French and the Italians all love it!” To really show me the attributes of this Thai herb, our next course arrived - Fusilli with red basil beetroot pesto and pan-fried prawns, the Thai herb giving the pasta a subtle ‘lift’.
After our pasta, it was time for a little homespun philosophy from our Italian chef. “Cooking! It’s a my life, it’s a my passion. If I live to be as old as my 85 year old grandfather, I will still learn.” He then tapped his chest. “Inspiration comes from inside. Like Pavarotti or Leonardo. A chef is a creative artist. When we have promotions, I have many books, but I don’t use them for promotions. I start with a (blank) white page and my pen.”
He was also very frank and open when discussing the cuisine of his homeland. “A 100 percent Italian restaurant outside Italy is impossible to make. The customers are not all Italian. So the dishes have to be a little fusion.” To emphasize this we then tucked into a roasted pork loin with forest mushroom sauce, apple mash and Siciliana spinach. If it is on the menu when you go there, I can highly recommend it! He also is proud of the presentation of his food, and stated that the best decoration comes from the colors of Asia.
He also admits that when working outside of Italy, it is possible for an Italian chef to begin to lose his identity. “I don’t close my brain (to outside influences), I like Thai food, but I will always be Italian 100 percent. There’s more to Italian food than pizza and pasta,” he said, to emphasize his point again, while making stirring motions with his hands and arms!
It was an interesting interview, and just as interesting food, and if this article has whetted your appetite, you can meet Giuseppe at The Bay restaurant, and try his creative menu, for yourselves. Mention you read about him here, and I’m sure he will give you an even larger smile.