ALESSANDRO COZZOLINO

Chef Alessandro Cozzolino was born and raised in the southern town of Caserta in the flat agricultural plains of Campania, 32 kilometres north of Naples. Like many young Italians, his earliest cooking influences came from home, watching and learning from his mother and grandmother. He absorbed their values in that kitchen: respect for ingredients and produce and cooking to demonstrate love towards family and friends. By age 14 and armed with a solid foundational set of skills, he set out to gain experience in a professional kitchen, working in his free time from school in the kitchens of a restaurant in Naples. Hooked by the world of cooking, Alessandro followed his dream to become a chef and enrolled in a five-year course at culinary school in Cassino, a city close to Rome.