Chef Alessandro Parisi - The Good Food Maestro

Alessandro Parisi is a true foodie, and Italy's culinary culture runs deep through his kitchen soul. Born in Naples, Alessandro Parisi is, since 2016, at the epicurean helm on Lake Como's shores at the Filario Hotel & Residences in Lezzeno.  It is here that Chef Parisi has flourished as captain of the 'Restaurante Filo', serving impeccable Italian deliciousness and the casual alfresco hotspot, 'Yeast Side' takes the humble pizza to a whole new level of gourmet.    

Filo is the basecamp of his finesse, where the flavour is instrumental in Parisi's style; he is a genius in creating boundless taste layers - always authentic. His signature tasting menus creatively exploits the conduits of freshness, texture, heritage and provenance. Headliners like Beetroot risotto with Piedmont veal tartare and Parmigiano Reggiano and a salacious plate of Stewed black ruff with scapece zucchini.  Morsels of deliciousness follow his narrative of the culinary history of Italy and the Alps.

Favourite Italian combination?  'It may sound so obvious to say, but pasta, tomato and basil are in my DNA: simplicity at its best. Following this love for tomato, I recently created a dish made simply of 5 different types of tomato, olive oil, celery, basil and raw Sicilian prawns. Delicious.'

Alessandro is humble and likes nothing more than chatting with the local farmers, the producers or stumbling upon old traditional hand-me-down recipes that conjure up new dishes. This is the good life and a way of thinking that makes his culinary heart tick, apart from, of course, being able to look over Lake Como from his open kitchen.

The ethos of slow-food is something that Alessandro gets excited about and sees it not as much as a trend, but the movement it truly is. He is keen to explore adding more vegetarian options as well as giving vegan dishes, his Italian touch.  

Capturing Dolce Vita on a plate is the signature of Alessandro, whether that be a gelato, a pizza or a painterly presented complex dish of Pigeon with polenta, blackcurrant and borage. 

His culinary voyage.