dining experience with menus designed to bring out the inner-child, utilising
bespoke cutlery and crockery in an environment acclaimed for hosting a foodlover’s playground.
Combal.Zero is located on the outskirts of Turin within the walls of the
Museum of Contemporary Art in the beautiful Castello di Rivoli. The airy
interiors are flooded with natural light and boast well-spaced tables, polished
wood flooring, exposed brick and a minimalist pallet of cream and black
leather. The huge plate glass walls sit in elegant contrast with the original
building’s historic Baroque architecture and offer breathtaking views over the
city of Turin. Service is attentive and approachable and guests are encouraged
to just relax and enjoy.
www.combalzero.org
What made you decide to become a chef?
My mother. When I was a child I had a very
vivid imagination. Firstly I wanted to be a
professional thief like Arsenio Lupen. Then she
caught me trying to remove bricks from the
wall down in the cellar, with the intention of
robbing the bank next-door. Then I wanted to
be a broker and I started swapping and selling
football players’ stickers making a few bids as
well… but again, I got caught. Meanwhile, on
TV there was the TV series called “Love Boat”.
My mother always wanted to travel the world,
but various situations - including getting
married and having me - prevented her dream
becoming reality. She used to make me watch
it with her and very cleverly sowed the seed.
She used to say: “If you become a chef you will
be able to travel around the world!”. And that
was it. I ended up joining catering school!
What was the first meal you ever cooked?
I was 16 years old when I catered for 50 people
- all family members. We were celebrating
my great aunt’s birthday. I remember I was
extremely excited about it and I prepared
something like five starters, two pasta dishes,
main course and a massive cake.
348
What do you wish you had known when you
started as a chef?
I wish I knew that the career of a chef is just
like taking religious vows or working in a
mission. You require passion and devotion.
Passion as per the Greek word ‘Patos’ … you
are willing to suffer, otherwise it is just a
hobby, an infatuation.
What or who inspires you to cook?
Life itself. Each single instant of my life. Any
external or internal input can stimulate my
creativity. For example: one of my latest
ideas came from looking through a car
magazine. I came across an article about a
new system of shock absorbers. I suddenly
realised that a mechanical shock works just
like our human language: a platform that
moves up four paces. From there I began to
think about dishes that have an ergonomic
design that moves on four, depending on how
you introduce the food into the mouth, that
then allows us to perceive tastes differently.
Recently, I’ve come across the Golden Ratio. It
made me think and reopen the window to an
old passion, maths! Only God knows where
this Golden Ratio will take me.
www.theaddressmagazine.com