Owner, Chef Giorgio Locatelli

Born in 1964. Grandfather ran a hotel and Michelin starred restaurant, La Cinzianella in Corgeno in Lombardy. Career : Worked in Italy and Switzerland. Arrived in UK in 1986 to serve 4 years under Anton Edelmann at London's Savoy Hotel. Visited France and moved to Paris working at Restaurant Laurent and La Tour D’Argent before returning to UK to become Head Chef at London's Olivo for 3 years cooking Italian Peasant cuisine. Became consultant for Red Pepper restaurant which opened in 1994. In 1995 opened Zafferano which earned a Michelin star in 1999. Then opened the customer- and wallet-friendly London eateries Spighetta and Spiga, with A-Z Group before a fall out in 2001. Launched his own independent restaurant, the sophisticated and celebrity-packed Locanda Locatelli in 2002, gaining a Michelin star in 2003. Refettorio opened in the Crowne Plaza near Blackfriars Bridge in early 2004. Anton Edelmann once described the flamboyant Locatelli as “probably the best Italian chef in London” . Awards : The Accademia Italiana della Cucina awarded him a Diploma di Buona Cucina in 2002 and a Diploma di Cucina Eccellente in 2003. Won the Restaurateur’s Best Italian Restaurant award in 2002 (as well as its Best New Restaurant category), in 2003 (winning the same accolade in the Carlton London Restaurant Awards) and in 2004. Books : Tony and Giorgio, Fourth Estate, 2003 Everything I Know About Italian Food 2004 Made in Italy: Food and Stories. 2006