Sara Scarsella and Matteo Compagnucci

There is a complementarity that is part of the universe of Sintesi, a neo-starred restaurant in the Castelli Romani, specifically in Ariccia, in the province of Rome. Two destinies merge and become one, each compensating, each feeding its own reservoir of knowledge in the kitchen, one enriching and seasoning the other's skills. Without ever straying too far from themselves.

Sara Scarsella and Matteo Compagnucci cook in their own kitchen today. She’s from Rome, and graduated from ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine; she later worked as an intern at Da Caino in Montemerano, in the Tuscan countryside. There she met Matteo, from the Marche region. At that time he was head pastry chef at Valeria Piccini's restaurant. A mentor, a guide, a great teacher for the two young people.

Then, for both of them, travel and life intertwined: they crossed a map drawn together; they moved alongside each other, finding themselves in almost always different kitchens and meanwhile absorbing, soaking up, accumulating knowledge, which will blossom into the unequivocal will to give life to a creature that would never again see them apart.

First stop across the border, in Oxford, England; then, Noma brings them together, waiting for their paths to part, and then, Sara is at Geranium, a workshop of aesthetic vision and extreme attention to detail, while Matteo is at Brace. Both in Copenhagen.

Soon after, it was Sydney's turn: a new destination, a fresh collection of techniques and alchemy between ingredients, at Neil Perry's Rockpool for Chef Scarsella, while Matteo acquires experience with fish, a skill that pulses through the menu at Sintesi.

The return to Italy is the origin of a new beginning, in March 2020, when the most radiant parenthesis of their story is launched: the opening of their restaurant, together with Sara's sister, Carla Scarsella, head of the dining room and sommelier. Within the walls of Sintesi, they experience an untouched harmony, a cuisine that is extremely natural, made of gentle gestures and strong flavours that leave a mark for both their substance and delicacy. A new goodness.