ROBERTO toro

Chef Roberto Toro grew up in a family of farmers in Palagonia, a small city near Catania in Sicily. Throughout his childhood, he understood the importance of respect for the land. As he got older, Roberto grew closer to the kitchen, developing a love for the produce his farm offered. Unsurprisingly, he went on to study at culinary school, and after graduating, decided he wanted to learn and understand more about ingredients, techniques, chefs, and cultures outside Sicily, and he left the island. 

He moved to Copenaghen in 1997 and worked at the Comwell Hotel for two years before landing a position as Demi Chef de Partie at Noma, where he not only discovered techniques he had never come across before but also met many people that still inspire his cooking to this day. Following this, he moved to Paris to work at Relais Le Louis XIII with Alain Ducasse to learn more about French cuisine before returning to the Italian mainland as Chef de Partie with the Alajmo brothers at Le Calandre in Veneto. 

After almost a decade away, Roberto returned to Sicily, joining the team at Grand Hotel Timeo in Taormina as Chef de Partie. In 2012 after six successful and happy years there, he earned the position of Executive Chef.

Roberto’s cuisine speaks of a chef with an innate understanding of Sicilian produce, with dishes that celebrate the region’s ingredients, full of vivid colour and rich flavour, with an elegant balance of refined simplicity.