Corso Matteotti, 4/6 Milano +39.02.7767.9611
"I enjoy experimenting, but I also believe that there’s nothing new under the sun". "I reinvent and re-interpret traditional recipes". "Perfection does not exist; what exists are extraordinary recipes". These three sentences sum up the thought of Sergio Mei from Santadi (Cagliari), born in 1952, as of 1994 the executive chef of the Four Seasons hotel in Milan. This is his latest step in a series of big hotel chains, first working at the Grand Hotel Helio Cabala in Rome, then in the kitchens of the Ciga Hotels in Sardinia and in Milan, and at Da Rolando, also in Milan.
He has always said he prefers "simple raw materials to foie gras, caviar and lobster". A humble approach that he owes to his father, a wood carver, a heritage which is still present in our chef, passionate about plants, fruits of the forest and herbs. With an all comprising experience (before ending up in the kitchen he worked as a baker and as a steward), he learned the meaning of Italian cuisine at Ciga. For the Four Seasons he has worked in Prague, Miami, Chicago and Canary Wharf, just to mention a few.
A significant episode in his journey was the lecture given at the École Lenôtre, the most prestigious French catering institute. Author of many books (“A Legna e Carbone”, "Nè Carne nè Pesce", “Pesce Fuor d’acqua: storie e ricette di Sergio Mei”), Reed Gourmet recently published his “La Cucina Italiana all’italiana”.
Born in 1952, in Santadi (Cagliari), he won the Luxembourg Culinary World Cup (1994), was voted Italian Chef of the Year by the Academy of Italian Cuisine in 1998. Since 1994 he’s the executive chef of the La Veranda and Il Teatro restaurants, at the Four Seasons in Milan. He’s author and coauthor of numerous publications
by
This article is curated by Identità Golose, the publication that organises the international fine dining congress, publishes website www.identitagolose.com and the online Guida Identità Golose, on top of curating many other events in Italy and abroad
Please fill in the fields below to search our Protagonists' database.
Vincenzo Digifico
Mezze maniche with prosciutto stock, fried cake and reduced balsamic vinegar: a recent and extraordinary dish by Terry Giacomello at Inkiostro in Parma. The chef from Friuli, with experience in the most innovative restaurants in Europe, is inserting his creative power in the calm and established tradition of Parma. Photo by Tanio Liotta
Cameras on Crescenzo Scotti. Thirty-six, originally from Campania, he resides in Ischia but works at Therasia, a resort rich in charm located in Vulcano, one of the seven island in the Aeolian archipelago. The chef, with his Agnello alla griglia che non c'è (literally, Lamb grilled on a grill that is not there), convinced everyone, even a master such as Peppe Barone