Who is Pino Cuttaia?
The guardian of culinary tradition and local heritage
"I found my freedom cutting an onion": so begins the culinary story of Pino Cuttaia, a Sicilian childhood followed by a move to Turin with his family. But the call of his homeland is strong, and pushes him to leave his factory job to realize an almost impossible dream: to open a restaurant in Licata, his small hometown. And instead, from there, success. His secret? Daily commitment, memory and research of domestic and traditional gestures common in Sicilian cuisine, and a creative inspiration capable of proposing entire landscapes within a dish. A love for the cuisine of his land recognized and crowned by two Michelin stars.
Born in Licata, but the history of his family took him to the north, to Piedmont. He lived in Turin, where he studied and worked in a factory. In those years, cooking was a hobby that became a profession. After a long time in the kitchens of several renowned restaurants, such as "Il Sorriso" in Soriso (Novara) and "Il Patio" in Pollone (Biella), he returned to his homeland, in Sicily.
Here the miracle happened: the precision in the work, which he had learned to appreciate in the north, met and rediscovered the warmth, passion, raw materials and recipes of his Sicilian childhood.
