Isabella Potì

Credits Brambilla-Serrani

Credits Brambilla-Serrani

Bros

via Acaja, 2
Lecce
Tel. + 39 0832 092601

LEGGI LA SCHEDA SULLA GUIDA 2019

«I’m an Italian cook. I work hard and I’m tireless. I’m friendly and extrovert, I love team work and I can’t wait to broaden my knowledge…». This is from the covering letter that Isabella Benedetta Potì used to send until a few years ago, when she applied for a place in some prestigious brigade (and, it turns out, she was very convincing). These days she no longer needs this letter: she’s a pillar at restaurant Bros di Lecce, a sous chef with particular attention to pastry making, she’s considered by everyone as one of the most promising young talents in tasty Italy, just like Floriano Pellegrino, who leads the kitchen in the Apulian restaurant and is Isabella’s partner - «we’re getting married soon».

Isabella is very young: she was born in 1995 in Rome to a Polish mother and a father from Lecce. She’s always loved cooking. She trained with Claude Bosi in London, Martin Berasategui and Paco Torreblanca in Spain. But she had already met the Pellegrino Bros before that, doing an internship focused on modern and classic pastry making with Francesco Pellegrino, the “sweet” brother of Floriano (and Giovanni. «I met Floriano and Giovanni during the last year at catering school»).

On the 26th December 2015 she returned to Italy to join the Bros adventure, offering «conceptualised territorial cuisine, with the idea of returning to the essence of the tradition of Salento». A story that is still developing, what with praise from critics and more projects coming up.

She and Floriano have a very strong feeling: putting aside their personal relationship, he also trained with Berasategui. They both ended up on Forbes: she in the 2017 list of Forbes 30 Under 30 in the “The Arts - Europe” category; while he received the same acknowledgment one year later. They also have their differences: Floriano is energetic and charismatic, Isabella is smiling and very sweet, even sweeter than her desserts, which are very contemporary, never too much sugar, please. Don’t miss Potì’s soufflé, it’s iconic.

Meanwhile, she continues to study. She worked cut her teeth in the brigades of Mauro Colagreco at Mirazur in Mentone and of Rasmus Kofoed at Geranium in Denmark. Because she doesn’t feel satisfied yet. But she’s already made some huge steps.

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Identità Milano


by

Carlo Passera

journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief