Culinary Consulting

Four decades of experience, available to your operation.

Giampaolo Maffini has built and led kitchens in some of the world’s most demanding hospitality environments, five-star hotels, luxury resorts, award-winning restaurants, and culinary institutions across eighteen countries.

He now works with hotel groups, restaurant owners, and culinary organisations to do what he has always done best: create kitchens worth working in, and food worth returning for.

01

Menu Development & Culinary Innovation

From concept through to costed, trained, and plated, Giampaolo develops Italian and Mediterranean menus that work in practice, not just on paper. He brings classical depth and contemporary sensibility to every brief, with a particular focus on seasonal produce and honest flavour.

02

Pre-Opening & Restaurant Launch

Giampaolo has been part of multiple pre-opening teams for luxury hotels and resort restaurants. He understands what it takes to build a kitchen from scratch, equipment, supplier relationships, team recruitment, training, systems, and opening service.

03

Kitchen Team Training & Culinary Instruction

Outstanding food requires an outstanding team. Giampaolo offers hands-on kitchen training programmes for both brigade staff and management, covering Italian and Mediterranean technique, food standards, plating, and kitchen culture. He has delivered training across three continents.

04

VIP Events, Private Dining & HNWI Experiences

For high-net-worth clients, private events, and VIP dining experiences that demand something beyond the standard menu, Giampaolo brings the full weight of his five-star experience to bear. From intimate private dinners to large-scale gourmet events, every detail is considered.

TRAINED UNDER MARCHESI IN MILAN | 18 COUNTRIES | FAIRMONT · FOUR SEASONS · ONE&ONLY · HILTON | TIME MAGAZINE CHEF TO WATCH 2004 | CULINARY INSTRUCTOR ACROSS THREE CONTINENTS

Let’s Talk

Every consulting engagement is different. Giampaolo takes on a limited number of projects at any time to ensure each one receives the attention it deserves.

To discuss your needs and whether Giampaolo is the right fit, get in touch by email. He replies personally to every enquiry.

chef@chefmaffini.com

Make an Enquiry

Ready to collaborate? Get in touch.

How the Consulting Work Runs

Opening and pre-opening consulting. Concept, kitchen layout, equipment list, supplier sourcing, costing, recruitment and the opening menu. Giampaolo opened Modo Mio at Crown Perth as Chef de Cuisine and has opened Italian restaurants in several countries since.

Italian menu development. A full menu built around what the local market can source, priced to the margin of the operation and written so the brigade can repeat it every service. His revamped menu for Marco Italian at Fairmont Bab Al Bahr was covered by Yalla Abu Dhabi Life and anexpatabroad in May 2023.

Kitchen training and brigade coaching. Technique, mise en place discipline, plating standards and pass control, taught on the line rather than in a classroom. He has taught at Algonquin College in Ottawa and through TAFE in Australia.

Task force chef and short-term contracts. Cover for a departure, a pre-opening push or a period of turnaround, with a chef who has run five-star kitchens in eighteen countries.

Frequently asked questions

What does a consulting engagement look like?

It starts with a brief and a call. Short engagements run one to four weeks on site. Openings and turnarounds usually run longer and begin before the kitchen is built.

Does Chef Giampaolo Maffini travel for work?

Yes. He has worked in eighteen countries across Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America and takes briefs worldwide.

What size of operation does he work with?

Hotel restaurants, resort food and beverage operations and independent restaurants. His background is five-star hotel scale with Fairmont, Four Seasons, One and Only, Hilton, Crown Resorts and Ritz-Carlton.

Is the work only Italian cuisine?

Italian is the specialism and the strongest fit. He has also run broader five-star hotel food and beverage operations.

How do we start?

Email chef@chefmaffini.com with the property, the timeline and what is not working. You will get an honest answer on fit before anything else.

Tell him the property, the timeline and what is not working.

Send a consulting brief