So, you’ve read our interview with Chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre. Next in our World Gourmet Summit series is none other than Chef Lorenzo Cogo, one of the youngest Italian chefs to earn a Michelin star! Before you catch him at Tippling Club, from 1 to 4 April, find out more about his ‘instinctive cooking’, globe trotting, favourite Singaporean dish, and more.
Ciao Lorenzo! How does it feel being one of the youngest Italian chefs to achieve Michelin-starred status?
Good! Italy is currently in a difficult economic position, so being recognized by the Michelin guide really helps to garner more trust from customers and earn the restaurant a solid reputation. But I think it’s important not to get too hung up on the accolade and continue striving to be a better chef day after day.
Are Michelin –starred chefs the new rockstars of the world?
Nah, I don’t think so. Making our customers (and ourselves) happy, and not losing track of where we came from, is more than enough.
Having grown up watching your dad and uncles help in the kitchen in your family’s trattoria, what do you think is your family’s best dish and who’s really the best cook?
Vitello Tonnato (cold, sliced veal in cream sauce) is one of my favourite dishes. I love it, it reminds me of my childhood. My father is a really great chef, and always stands firm with his philosophy: keep it simple!
You chose to embark on your own culinary journey instead of joining the family trattoria. How did your family take this decision?
Honestly, not really well at all. My father thought I was crazy, choosing to sacrifice money to experience the world. He used to often tell me to come back home, and I think even up to this day, he’s not quite convinced that I’m making the right lifestyle decision. But at the end of the day, he always supported me and believes I should go ahead and do what I wanna do.
How did you define yourself and your cooking style after going solo?
I think my style has evolved a lot since I opened El Coq. Back when I first opened El Coq, I was influenced by a lot of different things. But after one year, I lost quite a bit of it because I wanted to craft my own style and leave my own imprint. So, I started to focus on what I really loved to cook, and my food started to revolve around distinctive flavours. You’ll realize that I use a lot of local ingredients and I love playing around with the flavour of bitterness.
You pretty much coined the term ‘instinctive cooking’. We’re really curious about what ‘instinctive cooking’ means to you and what’s the typical process when you’re creating a new dish?
It’s basically my lifestyle; I love to feel free without being restricted by any kind of rules! To create a new dish, I just focus on what my palate suggests to me. I can start to build a dish from anything – after a walk, a chat with some producers, walking around my town, or from my childhood memories. What’s most important to me is trying my best to communicate what I felt in the moment to the customers.
We heard that you had the chance to work in some of Australia’s most renowned restaurants like Vue du Monde, Marque Restaurant, and Tetsuya’s. How was the experience working and living Down Under?
It was an awesome experience! Tetsuya’s was just a short stint but I spent a longer time at Vue du Monde and Marque Restaurant. It allowed me to grow into it and learn a lot from both places. It was a little difficult at first, especially with the language, but I definitely learnt to enjoy it more and more.
After Australia, you continued traveling, successfully wrangling more stints under top chefs around the globe. Do you have a favourite city for a) living and b) dining?
For living? Spain, for sure. I love the Basque Country and it feels like home. For dining? Japan, of course. It’s my all time favourite food culture.
For readers who have never been to your hometown, Vicenza, Italy, what would you recommend they eat if they had one day to spend there?
At my restaurant of course! But for typical food from my region, I would recommend dishes like Baccalà alla Vicentina, which is stockfish served with polenta, our roast birds, which are cooked for 6 hours, and Bigoli con l’anitra, a type of homemade pasta with duck sauce.
We know you’ve visited Singapore before – is there a local dish that you really enjoyed eating / will revisit this time / have put your own spin on?
I know it’s a little cliché, but I really love the crab in Singapore, especially the black pepper version. I’ll definitely be chowing down on my fair share while I’m in town. I’ve even tried my own version in El Coq, using king crab, olives, and almonds, accompanied with a spicy black pepper crab consommé. I also like visiting hawker centres, it’s something very unique to Singapore, and can’t be commonly found in Europe.
What can guests expect at your gastronomic demonstration at Tott store with Tippling Club’s Ryan Clift?
They can expect to be surprised by the evolution of Italian cuisine!
Who will you be watching at the WGS?
Sang Hoon Degeimbre, Arron Huong, Mauro Colagreco, to name a few.
Where will you be partying?
To be honest, it’s going to be a lot of hard work in Singapore, so I’ll be busy in the kitchen. Yes, really!
For more information about Chef Lorenzo Cogo’s Epicurean Dinner at Tippling Club, head here. You can also catch him, with Chef Ryan Clift, at ToTT store’s gastronomic demonstration on 1 April. Last by not the least, stay tuned for more from our World Gourmet Summit edition of In The Kitchen!