Gallery - Chef Maffini

Forty years of plates. Eighteen countries. One Italian sensibility. A small selection of dishes from Chef Giampaolo Maffini's kitchens, spanning Fairmont, Four Seasons, One and Only, Hilton and Crown Resorts. The dishes change from country to country. The standard does not.

La cucina italiana è memoria, materia prima e tecnica. The Italian kitchen is memory, raw ingredient, technique.

Antipasti

How an Italian meal begins. Composed starters from the kitchens Giampaolo has led, built around the day's best ingredient.

Vitello tonnato with quail egg by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Vitello tonnato. Slow-cooked veal with tuna sauce, cured ham and a soft quail egg. A Piedmont classic plated for the dining room.

Burrata with tomatoes and pesto by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Burrata e pomodoro. Creamy burrata over marinated tomatoes with basil pesto and cold-pressed olive oil.

Salmon carpaccio with caviar by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Carpaccio di salmone. Cured salmon with caviar, capers and citrus, plated for a festive five-star service.

Italian seafood salad with octopus and prawns by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Insalata di mare. Octopus, prawns and calamari with endive, potatoes and Ligurian olives, served on slate.

Seared scallops in the shell by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Capesante. Seared scallops in the shell with charred fennel and a bright salsa, straight from the pass.

Primi

Pasta and risotto, the heart of the Italian table. Every plate here left a five-star kitchen during a real service.

Open ravioli with pesto and tomato by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Ravioli aperti. Open ravioli with tomato, basil and pesto. Fresh pasta made the way Marchesi taught it.

Saffron risotto alla Milanese by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Risotto alla Milanese. Saffron risotto with roasted mushroom. The dish of Giampaolo's home region, and the one he is judged by.

Saffron risotto with roasted mushrooms and sage by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Risotto allo zafferano. Saffron risotto with pan-roasted mushrooms, sage and a reduction of the roasting juices.

Beetroot risotto with gorgonzola by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Risotto alla barbabietola. Beetroot risotto with gorgonzola cream and pea shoots.

Risotto with prawns and black truffle by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Carnaroli rice with sweet prawns and black truffle shaved at the pass.

Spaghetti al pesto with pine nuts by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Spaghetti al pesto. Basil pesto, pine nuts and sun-dried tomato. The Ligurian standard, no shortcuts.

Secondi e Dal Forno

Mains and the wood oven. Fire, smoke and restraint, the part of the meal where technique shows.

Char-grilled steak board with Chianti by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Bistecca. Char-grilled on the bone, rested and carved, with roasted garlic, hand-cut chips and a glass of Chianti.

Herb-crusted king prawns by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Gamberoni in crosta di erbe. Herb-crusted king prawns with garden vegetables, plated for a festive dinner service.

Wood-fired seafood pizza by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Pizza ai frutti di mare. Blistered crust, tomato, mussels, calamari and basil pesto from the wood oven.

Dolci

The Italian finish. Classic dolci executed with pastry discipline.

Red wine poached pear dessert by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Pera al vino rosso. Pear poached in red wine, carved and glazed, with spiced cream and espresso alongside.

Pistachio cannoli with gelato by Chef Giampaolo Maffini — Cannoli siciliani. Pistachio cannoli with candied cherry and pistachio gelato. Crisp shell, cold filling, no compromise.

Plated for Hotels Worldwide

Every plate on this page came out of a working five-star kitchen. Fairmont, Four Seasons, One and Only, Hilton and Crown Resorts. If you are opening a restaurant or rebuilding an Italian menu, this is the standard Giampaolo brings to consulting work.

Explore Consulting

See the recipes coming soon in The Cookbook.