26-04-2016
Antonino Cannavacciuolo, patron at Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio (Novara), 2 Michelin stars, portrayed last 19th April at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The chef from Vico Equense, born in 1975, founded the Cannavacciuolo Academy, a training firm that teaches aspiring cooks how to become “perfect restaurateurs" (photo by Carlo Lannutti for cucina.corriere.it)
You should have already read the news: last 19th April Antonino Cannavacciuolo, chef at Villa Crespi and very popular on television, held a lesson at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Not the classic cooking lecture but an 8-hour culinary-training-motivational show, capable of attracting an audience of 1,400 swooning people to the Tribuna Monte Mario, willing to spend 97 euros (full price ticket), with peaks of 247 (for the “VIP experience”: seat in the first row, lunch break and selfie with the chef) and 35 euros (student concession). A day conceived by the Cannavacciuolo Academy, «An activity», as stated in the online claim «that aims at conveying successful examples and help other entrepreneurs build they enterprise in an effective and profitable way». «A sort of Cucine da Incubo with the cameras turned off», effectively sums up the chef from Vico Equense, when we phoned him in his headquarters in Orta San Giulio, in that short break between saying goodbye to the guests at the end of the lunch and preparing for the dinner service. What’s the idea behind the Academy? Ever since I’ve started working on TV, more and more restaurateurs ask me how to solve the problems in their firm. The most frequent issue is related to the staff: motivating them, finding the right maître, which school to attend... The requests had become so persistent that the 4 collaborators I had working on the phone especially for this were no longer enough. So I took a further step with the guys from consultancy and training firm Osm, with whom I’ve been working for over a decade.
November 2015, Sheraton Malpensa, the chef holds his first fine dining, training and motivation meeting. 1,200 people come running
Cannavacciuolo is the chef of the year according to the 2013 Guida di Identità Golose (photo by Brambilla/Serrani)
Another pic from the Stadio Olimpico. The chef’s stardom began in 2013 with Cucine da Incubo (as of this year on Deejay Tv-Nove), the Italian version of Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, now in its fourth season (photo by Carlo Lannutti for cucina.corriere.it)
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt