My kitchen: I got my first kitchen job when I was 9

Michele Celentano of Little Venice

• What was your first restaurant job?

I don’t remember actually getting paid — I was only eight  or nine years old! 

I followed one of my older sisters into the kitchen where she worked, Ristorante Mustafà, in Naples, and started helping out wherever I could.

My first official position was at Da Giorgio, across the Bay of Naples, on Capri.

• How long you have been at your current restaurant?

I have been with the MEF Group for over 15 years, at Little Venice for over seven.

• Describe the cuisine served.

Traditional Italian

• What is your approach to food/cooking?

The ingredients are everything.  Without good ingredients you are very limited.   

Once I have the ingredients, then my creativity takes over.

• Signature dish?

Tuna Tartare — I have my own take on this classic dish which is always a huge favourite.   

Obviously, I prefer fresh local tuna, then I add avocado cubes, endive and roasted walnuts for a good crunch which is always a pleasant surprise for the first-timers who probably only expected the usual mushy tartare.

• Favourite food to eat at home?

A big, giant, aged steak.  When cooked right, it’s perfection.

• Which chef do you most admire and why?

This has to be plural chefs — my sisters, all six of them!

They are all great chefs.  Their dedication to their craft, making pioneering decisions in those days for a woman to choose career over family, is an inspiration to me.  

Specifically my Executive Chef sister, Palma, and my mentor, Lillina, she’s the one I followed into the kitchen when I was so young.

• Your five most important food preparation ingredients?

A good olive oil.

Salt, pepper and other seasonings.

The rest is up to my team and me to produce quality dishes, consistently, with the ingredients available.

• What do you normally eat for breakfast?

I love blueberry pancakes! And croissants with Nutella is a close 2nd.

• What is your favourite cuisine?

Japanese cuisine really interests me. I follow Chef Nobu (Nobuyuki Matsuhisa); I love the way he fuses traditional Japanese dishes with other cuisines.

• Your favourite drink?

A good glass of red, preferably Gaja. 

Bermuda Sun columnist Walton Brown will be meeting more of Bermuda’s chefs in the coming weeks.