About Giampaolo

The Beginning

Giampaolo Maffini (also spelled Gianpaolo Maffini) was born in Pavia, just outside Milan, in 1967. He grew up in a kitchen where food was not a hobby but a language. Every Sunday, every celebration, every quiet weekday evening was shaped by what was on the stove and what came from the market that morning.

After formal training at the Istituto Professionale Alberghiero di Stato A. Vespucci in Milan, Giampaolo entered the professional kitchen as a student of Gualtiero Marchesi, the chef who brought Italian cuisine into the modern era and earned Italy its first three Michelin stars. He trained at Marchesi’s flagship Milan restaurant and at the Michelin-starred L’Antica Osteria Del Ponte in Cassinetta di Lugagnano. The standards he learned there became the foundation of everything that followed.

“Working in a Michelin-starred kitchen teaches you that there is no shortcut. Either the food is right, or it goes back.”

A Career Without Borders

What followed was a career that took Giampaolo across five continents and into the kitchens of some of the world’s most respected hospitality brands. He has served as Executive Chef, Executive Sous Chef, Chef de Cuisine, and Culinary Instructor in eighteen countries: Australia, Bahrain, Bali (Indonesia), Canada, Cambodia, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

His restaurants have been ranked among the best in their cities. His menus have earned awards for Best Italian and Best Western cuisine. In 2004, TIME Magazine named him a Chef to Watch. He has appeared on television programmes including Grand Gourmet and Yan Can Cook, and been featured in newspapers and hospitality publications across three continents.

Over the years he has cooked for hundreds of high-net-worth guests, royal families and celebrities in the five-star hotels he has led.

At every property, his approach has been the same: work with the best local produce available, train the team properly, and build a kitchen culture rooted in respect for the ingredients, the guests, and the craft.

Teaching and Giving Back

For Giampaolo, cooking has always been something to share, not guard. He has taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa, mentored students through the TAFE system in Australia, and run cooking classes through corporate sponsorship programmes. He genuinely loves watching a student find their confidence in a kitchen.

Today

Giampaolo is currently based in Malaysia as Italian Chef at the Hilton Burau Bay Resort Langkawi, where he led the pre-opening culinary programme, developed the Italian restaurant concept, and continues to lead a team and train kitchen staff. He is also working on his debut cookbook, a distillation of four decades of professional cooking, written for the home kitchen without compromising on the standards of a five-star table.

“I want people to cook Italian food the way it should be cooked. Simply, with good ingredients, and without fear.”

The Family Behind the Chef

Giampaolo lives with his wife Helen, an author and education consultant whose work focuses on children’s wellbeing and mindfulness. Their daughter Alexandra works in hospitality management with Thynk Hospitality. Their younger daughter Francesca is completing her final year of university in Malta.