Valentino Marcattilii - executive chef

Valentino was born in Mosciamo Sant'Angelo near Teramo in 1954. He moved to Imola with his family in 1960. His career at San Domenico began at the young age of 16 as sous chef to Nino Bergese, with whom he worked for seven years until the maestro’s death. It was then that he began a series of apprenticeships at the most renowned restaurants in France, including Auberge de l'Ile, Trois Gros, Madame Point and Verge', in other words the best kitchens in France. Upon his return he took over as executive chef at San Domenico. He is now also a joint owner of the restaurant. From that time on Valentino has offered cuisine that combines a great respect for tradition and fresh, local products, exacting standards and simple preparation with organisational efficiency. He introduced for the first time in the Italian restaurant business the kind of cuisine served in Italian aristocratic homes, which had previously been kept behind their thick, ancestral walls. This led to international consultancy roles for Montej Plasa (California), Donatello in San Francisco, La Main a la Plate (Paris), Ristorante in Miami and the Conrad Hilton in Hong Kong. In 1988 he worked with Barilla to produce a new line of pasta sauces. He has appeared on and presented programmes for the BBC and World Class (Channel 4). In June 1988 San Domenico opened at 240 Central Park South, New York. Valentino took on the role of executive chef. In July Brian Miller, the New York Times restaurant critic awarded him three stars, a recognition he had never before given to an Italian restaurant. Also in 1988 Esquire Magazine named San Domenico as the best Italian restaurant in the USA in its "the Best of the Year" awards. During the following years Valentino took part in various events in Italy and abroad, promoting Italian food and wine and organising banquets for major international firms. In 1997 Valentino commemorated the 20th anniversary of Bergese’s death by writing a new recipe book with the collaboration of the Italian art critic and opinion maker Vittorio Sgarbi, published by Rizzoli.