Filippo's story
PROFILE > HISTORY

Filippo's story

Filippo's passion and love for cuisine developed thanks to his grandfather Enzo. As a child, Filippo used to spend most of his daytime with Enzo, who was a big cuisine passionate himself. Grandfather Enzo wanted to prepare typical and healthy meals, using produce from his own vegetable garden and the barnyard animals that he reared.
Enzo would prepare the best known recipes: pasta with typical Umbrian sauces, stew with delicious sauces to match with the tasty, rigorously hand-made torta al testo, roasted meat and seasonal vegetable.
As a child, Filippo was captured by that special light that he could spot in his grandfather's eyes when he searched for new recipes and special ingredients to prepare its delicacies.
It was always grandfather Enzo to cook for the whole family, both on working days and holidays. On special occasions, he would start reflecting upon his recipes days before. He would go searching for fresh ingredients, of certain origin. When the family praised his food, defining it as "divine", you could spot deep satisfaction in his proud look. Grandfather Enzo would look after his vineyard personally, when the grape was ripe he would harvest it. Part of the grape was used to make wine (we still have his old winepress) and the remaining would dry up on old bednets in the cellar, and were subsequently used to make the famous Vernaccia di Cannara (which now has PGI certification). Filippo still recalls the scent he could smell over Easter, when grandfather Enzo would prepare the typical Umbrian cake.
Filippo attended school in the village where grandfather Enzo used to live. Growing up so close to Enzo, helped Filippo to choose which high-school he would attend: the Vocational School for Hotel and Restaurant services of Assisi.
An excellent student, Filippo laid solid foundations for his future job and passion and successfully graduated in 2001. His polar start was always that special light that he could recall in his grandfather's look, which you can now spot in Filippo's own eyes when he talks about the "Art of cooking":
Filippo chose to experience all the possible sides of cooking. As a chef, he works in the most renowned restaurants in Assisi, Foligno, Gubbio and Perugia. Just after graduation, he started teaching in hotel and restauration vocational schools in Umbria; at the same time, he became a teacher at the National Food School (Università dei Sapori) and enrolled at the University of Medicine and Surgery of Perugia in order the graduate in Dietary Studies. Along his whole path, Filippo continued his constant search for a healthy and innovative cooking style, without losing sight of his origin.
A refined and healthy cuisine is Filippo 's lifestyle; teaching is a way to divulgate his philosophy.
Filippo and I together are "THE ITALIANIST", as one of our major clients called us.
Filippo is a personal chef, responsible for national clients; I am a nutritionist and international manager, responsible for international clients. We work in the most luxurious locations, both in Italy and abroad. We offer our expertise and knowledge to special clients, who wish to give themselves a special treat during their holidays or on special occasions.

Ingrid

Ingrid's story

Ingrid's interest and passion for food developed within her family environment, where much attention was paid to what was offered on the table.
Ingrid is the youngest of three daughters. She was raised by her mother, a fashion designer who struggled for combining her passion for beauty with her love for cooking, by preparing tasty and healthy meals, prepared with care and simple ingredients.
Ingrid's father was born from an affluent family in the historical centre of Perugia. Very young, he started working in his family's bar, the most famous in the city centre and located just next to the Court of Justice. Yet, his true passion was nature: as soon as he could, he purchased a piece of land in the periphery where he started growing high-quality fruit and vegetable and rearing a few barnyard animals. He would call it "my small paradise" and Ingrid was lucky enough to be raised with "home-made" seasonal fruit and vegetable, meat from animals reared in the most natural way and then cooked in a health way.
Ingrid's father was also talented to process meat to make typical hams and salamis; a passionate for beekeeping, he had 20 hives to produce organic honey.
A family tradition was to prepare home made tortellini and pasta for the Christmas feast: the three daughters joined their mother and grand mother in the kitchen early in the morning, to start preparing the meat which would become the filling for tortellini. Men help was called for the next, hard step: kneading and rolling out the dough.

On special occasions, Ingrid's mother would start cooking days ahead. Ingrid can still recall very well the pleasant smell of her mother's delicacy, invading their building's staircase when she went back from school. Furthermore, other important details in Ingrid's life would become healthy habit, for example she never had purchased products, like sneaks, nor dessert at meals. Ingrid was raised to love sport and healthy food, which would start setting her future career.
Growing up, Ingrid realized more and more that research is the key to find the sense of life, whatever its form. She pursued classical studies at high-school and then enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine in Perugia, where she gained a first honour degree in Dietary studies and then specialized in Human Diet and Nutrition Studies. Her passion for studying and scientific research led her to collaborate with many hospital wards and medicine offices, side by side with eminent doctors. At the same time, she carried out studies abroad; her most important experience was in California where she went for the first time in 2001 and would go back often for professional reasons and to improve her English. During a short experience at Stanford University, Ingrid deepened the role of food in relation with pathology and became more and more convinced of the close relation between food and "what we are".
Thanks to years of study, researching and practicing food education is now not only Ingrid's personal philosophy of life but also her main profession. As a nutritionist, she collaborates with public and private hospitals and working with me, (her husband) she also succeeded in developing a more creative and highly satisfactory side of her profession. The project that we are developing together is a continuous source of research and study. Ingrid has the chance to learn about new cultures, taste and ingredients which may turn out to be powerful allies for our health.

Filippo