On his star-studded resume spanning close to 20 years of experience are achievements such as leading the Alpenroyal Grand Hotel in South Tyrol to its first Michelin star in 2011 to helming one-Michelin-starred Unico Milano. He left the latter and three months ago, set up his own eponymous restaurant offering a bird’s eye view over the Duomo di Milano, the city’s iconic Gothic cathedral.
We caught up with chef Felice while he was in town last week to present an exquisite 5-course degustation dinner over five evenings at The Lighthouse restaurant in the Fullerton Hotel.
(Read what our inspectors have to say about The Lighthouse)
Welcome to Singapore, chef. Is it your first time here? How do you find Singapore?
Yes, It’s my first time in Singapore. So far I’ve found that Singaporeans are very open to new dining adventures, different cultures, and they are very curious about their food. I haven’t had much time to try the local food as I’ve been very busy in the kitchen, but we went to two-week-old Italian restaurant Braci the other night and it was very good. The chef, Beppe de Vito, and I are from the same hometown.(Related: Read more about Braci in our round-up of 13 New Dishes To Try in September)
Can you tell us more about your cooking philosophy?
Like Singaporeans, my food is very open, and it’s largely inspired by my life experiences and my travels around the world.
I’m from Puglia, in the South, grew up next to the sea, but I have lived for 12 years in the Dolomites, so I have a mix of experiences from the South and the North, the influence of the sea and the mountains, so it gives me a very complete view towards Italian cuisine. In the South, people are more friendly, more open, they like to eat well. In the mountains, it’s more tranquil, more relaxed, you are closer to nature.
In addition to that, I travel often to showcase my cooking - I’ve visited many parts of Asia, from Taiwan to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau - and I take in influences from each visit. One of my favourite destinations so far is India. I travelled through and stayed in New Delhi and Mumbai for a month each time. Indian cuisine does not have much influence on my food, but the level of hospitality there is Number One in the world.
What is it like running such an iconic restaurant in Milan?
It’s difficult. To be honest, competition is very strong here. In Milan, there are 15 restaurants with a total of 18 Michelin stars. For a city with just one million persons, it’s very competitive. But I enjoy the competition.
What do you want more Singaporeans to know about Italian food?
I want more diners to know that Italian food is much more than just spaghetti and pizza. I would like to be the ambassador for Italian cuisine.
The trend among restaurants in Italy at the moment is to go back to the cooking of your mother and grandmother. Chefs are revisiting original, heritage recipes but updating them with new presentation styles without changing the flavours.
In Italy, we like to keep things simple. I have so much respect for Ferran Adria - I used to work there - but what he does, all that gelatin, would not work in Italy. Italians are more conservative, they are not so keen to explore molecular cooking - we won’t want to eat it. A goose should still be a goose, and a lamb is a lamb.
Which are some of your favourite ingredients?
I love a bit of cheese with salumi, or cold cuts, such as guanciale, pancetta, and bacon, I’m a very traditional person. Sometimes, we just have a nice cold cut with some cheeses and that’s all I need.
I love cooking with fish, it’s versatile, easy to digest and fits the trend of more health-conscious eating at the moment. In Italy, especially in Milan, the trending restaurants now are Asian restaurants, because diners love sushi and sashimi, but in my region, when I was a young boy, eating raw fish was already normal in Puglia.
