Ernesto Iaccarino

It’s never easy to grow up happily with the shadow of such a great father shining behind. In fact Don Alfonso (who’s also the actual name of the long-time 2-starred restaurant) can be considered as the great father, the pioneer (you’d better not calling him this way, though: he says he is still alive and he’s definitely right) of Mediterranean haute cuisine scene. We can define him somehow as the Gualtiero Marchesi of Southern Italy.

Moreover, if you project on his son’s back the shadow of 2 more generations of cooks, you understand how heavy the exercise of standing this burden can be. But, thanks to his quietness, Ernesto Iaccarino, 39 years old, can easily handle the situation with no worries at all.
First of all, his father is not an enemy but his closest friends: he shows his attachment supplying him with the best raw materials he himself grows on the family farm Le Peracciole, a heavenly place on the most western peak of the Amalfi Coast that collects great vegetables and fruits. Secondly, Ernesto learned soon how to cook all these gifts from God with fantastic techniques that stress lightness and unusual pairing in a way that is untypical if compared to the southern Italian traditions. It’s our luck then that 10 years ago Ernesto, after graduating in Economical Science, decided to quit his job as a PriceWaterhouseCoopers auditor and consultant. He listened to the call of the family. And he was right: today, together with his father, mother Livia and brother Mario, he still plays the role of consultant. Yes, but chef consultant at Baby Restaurant in Rome, Yacht Christina O, La Sponda at Positano’s Hotel Le Syrenuse, Belvedere at Tramontano Hotel in Sorrento, the Chinese spin-off Don Alfonso in Macao with Marrakech’s La Mamounia coming soon. A destiny that will never prevent him from being a great cuoco. To deeply understand the concept, just taste his Turmeric beef loin from Irpinia region, cooked in a salt pan. Impressive.