The San Domenico Restaurant

Natale Marcattilii, Gianluigi Morini, Valentino Marcattilii.

On 7 March 1970 Gianluigi Morini opened the Ristorante San Domenico in Imola introducing for the first time in the Italian restaurant business the kind of cuisine served in the country’s aristocratic homes, which had always fascinated him during his many years of research and reading. This style of cooking had previously been the exclusive privilege of just a very few great Italian families, whose kitchens were run by professional chefs. Transferring all of this into a restaurant setting was not an easy task and Morini, on the advice of Luigi Veronelli, turned to one of the greatest chefs working for aristocratic families at the time, Nino Bergese "the chef of kings". Together with Morini, Bergese organized his kitchen staff, including a very young Valentino Marcattilii as his sous chef. The pair worked side by side for no fewer than seven years. During this time Valentino perfected his culinary skills, partly thanks to several periods as an apprentice at some of the most renowned restaurants in France. When Bergese died in 1977 Valentino took charge of the San Domenico restaurant kitchens. It was the start of a dazzling career that would have spread his art all around the world.