Executive Chef. Gianfranco Chiarini
* This Article was written by Wikipedia, and contributed by Beverly Wehmer Johnson.
About the Chef
Executive and Corporate Celebrity Chef Gianfranco Chiarini has been involved with Multi-Continental Cuisine, culinary and scientific research for new gastronomic trends, molecular analysis, classic Michelin cuisine, food analysis, design and development of exciting new culinary concepts. He networks closely with worldwide consultancy chefs. From Italian and Colombian origins he grew up between Italy, Venezuela and the U.S.
Early Cooking Career
In 1986, the young Chiarini enrolled in the Instituto de Alta Gastronomia de Caracas, Venezuela, which has been closed due to political unbalances in the country. During this time Chiarini studied and worked in several restaurants, and found his passion for cooking would develop into becoming his one true profession.
In 1996, he decided to go back to the United States where he enrolled at the Pittsburgh Culinary Institute. There again his life was spent between his practical experience in restaurants and his culinary studies. During this time Chiarini worked in restaurants such as The Ohio Brewery and Alberinis. He worked as waiter, and cook at Alberinis dividing his weekends learning banqueting techniques from the back of the house to the front of the house.
After completing his degree at the Pittsburgh Culinary Institute, he moved to France where he was thrust into the heart of the most competitive culinary region of the world. Chiarinis ability to multi-task, and ambitious spirit led him to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.
While at Le Cordon Bleu he worked under masters like Alain Dutournier chef/owner of Carré des Feuillants (** Michelin stars), and later while in Rome, Italy working under the enigmatic Executive Chef Heinz Beck at La Pergola Restaurant (*** Michelin stars), and in Ferrara, Italy working as a sous chef at restaurants such as, Antichi Sapori and Hostaria Savonarola. Moving became again imminent, when The Pirsch Mühle (* Michelin star), restaurant in Germany offered him the opportunity to run the kitchen along with the Executive Chef and owner, S. Leypold.
Professional career
Beginning the new millennium Chef Chiarini decided to have a new challenge in his learning, and teaching process. He moved to the Middle East, starting with Intercontinental hotels in Oman. During this period he dedicated part of his time also to the consultancy business for Al Bustan Palace and Shangri-La Hotels. Later he moved to Bahrain, and developed culinary concepts for Mövenpick and Marriott hotels. His next target was Kuwait, where he fully engaged his culinary career as chef with Marriott Hotels. He establishes the signature and deluxe Nord-Italian specialties restaurant Il Forno, and while at the Marriott he established two renowned Chaines des Rotisseurs.
In Kuwait Chiarini developed a relationship with the late Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, where he created exotic dinners for the family. While in Kuwait he became a TV chef, with the broadcasting channel Al Rai TV. Chiarini participated in more than 50 cooking shows, where he featured and introduced a more personal level of the true European culinary cuisine to the Persian Gulf community.
Chiarini continued his culinary journey adding Spain, U.K and Ireland to his European repertoire as well as Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Oceania. In Africa Chef worked for the Starwood hotels chain Sheraton Addis, Ethiopia, part of the Luxury Collection of Starwood hotels. Ethiopia is well known for being the diplomatic capital of Africa, and in this setting it was unavoidable that chef Chiarini would cross paths with some of the most prominent local and international politicians of this century.
He has served political figures like; the 39th President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, the president of Israel Shimon Peres, the Presidents of the (AU) African Union, including Egyptian ex-President Hosni Mubarak.
His time spent in Asia inspired him to travel throughout the continent immersing him in the food, and absorbing the culture giving him a great appreciation and deep understanding of the Asian culture. Countries like China, Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines have been a great source of culinary knowledge and amazing experience for the chef.
“The New Renaissance of Italian Fusion Cuisine 1.0” The Emerald Book, the chef's first written cookbook, has achieved first place in conjunction with the current culinary cook book from Noma, rated best restaurant in the world. The food, wine and travel authority, VisitVineyards.com, Visitvineyards.com placed the chef’s book at first place for the best top twelve, and most beautiful culinary books for the 2010/2011 year.
Recently in January 2011, Chiarini was featured as Star chef in the jet set magazine 8 (Thamāniya), from Saudi Arabia. This magazine is the exclusive property of Princess Amira al-Taweel and the Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Additionally, the chef has been featured as for his activities in the Middle East and his book “The New Renaissance of Italian Fusion Cuisine 1.0”.
Chef Chiarini made a major career change in 2009, by moving away from Michelin restaurants and Luxury hotel operations into the massive food manufacturing industry. He was offered an impossible to refuse job opportunity with a giant international manufacturer for the food ingredients industry.
In this new position he serves this multinational as their Europe, Africa and Middle East Corporate Executive Chef and Culinary Development Leader, creating new culinary concepts by utilizing his vast culinary expertise on six continents, for manufacturing companies around the world.
(For confidentiality agreement reasons such companies cannot and must not be named here).
One very important point that deserves to be mentioned is that Chef. Gianfranco Chiarini is actually the chef with the biggest network of culinary professionals in the world. His personal and well organized network, best known as The Global Chefs Data-base exceeds the 10.000+ chefs from six continents and more than 160 countries. No other chef possesses this powerful tool that enables him to create and link culinary, texture and regional flavors, just with a click of the mouse. Finding local experts wherever he goes and making a lot easier the hard job of creating new and exciting food concepts with the Intel and help of this army of chefs globally.
To participate of this amazing database just click on the following link and fill the easy on line form. Once you are done, just click submit.
Global Chefs Data-base: http://tinyurl.com/6dx4wre
Chef. Gianfranco Chiarini has been featured in numerous culinary web sites and is the culinary guru and official chef for the mega site http://www.eatitalian.com/ where you will find his useful culinary-tech insights on the section called “Expert Spotlight”.
Chef Gianfranco Chiarini speaks 7 languages, and despite his responsibilities as a Corporate Chef, he still remains linked to the glamorous world of haute cuisine. In fact he is publishing the first cookbook of a unique trilogy, entitled: The New Renaissance of Italian Fusion Cuisine 1.0, a unique compilation of great masterpieces, created with care by the chef, gathering influences and a fusion of cultures from around the world, having as a base Italian Cuisine.
The book is a perfect balance, as are his dishes, of history, techniques, colors, flavors, sensations and textures; blending Classic Italian Michelin cuisine with modern fusions, old basic techniques with modern cutting edge tools and equipment. All this results from his journeys and culinary adventures in every continent.
The book has been reviewed with highest rates by: Rasegna Culinaria Magazine (Milano, Italy), Culinary Trends (UK), Living in Style Magazine (UK), Chiarini was featured as Star chef in the jet set magazine 8 (Thamāniya), from Saudi Arabia. This magazine is the exclusive property of Princess Amira al-Taweel and the Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, and the chef is being featured this January 2011, as starred chef for his activities in the Middle East and his book. Recently Visitvineyards.com the food+wine+travel authority of Australia has rated chef Gianfranco’s book at the top 12 best culinary books of that continent, sharing the first place with NOMA restaurant (Best restaurant of the world, by San Pellegrino).
About the book.
The book is divided into 11 different parts; the five main ones contain recipes, where Chef Gianfranco fuses Italian culinary creativity with the beauty of foreign lands. Some of the countries whose culinary traditions are fused into this book are: Japan, England, France, Poland, Korea, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, Lebanon, South Africa, Ghana, and Spain, to name just a few.
Why fuse something so untouchable as Italian cuisine with that of other cultures?
Chef Gianfranco says in his own words, “In my culinary journeys through six continents I noticed the similarities in family values, passion for things, and the everyday shared situations in and out of the kitchen and at mealtimes, between these other lands and my native Italy. I later realized that most basic elements like eggs, flour, tomatoes, herbs; meats, fish and more are just the same staples as for the basic Italian cuisine.
These facts drove me to understand that Italian culinary heritage is indeed the result of 3000 years of cultural exchange and fusions in eating habits due to invasions of Italy and those made from the Roman Empire to the rest of the world. Therefore it is impossible to believe that any contemporary culinary culture is 100% pure and untouched. We all are the result of fusions”
The purpose of the book:
The purpose of this book is initially to offer a tribute to the ebb and flow of culinary influences between Italy and the rest of the world. An additional purpose is to present the new classics of Italian cuisine, as Chef Gianfranco has noticed how Italian food has enjoyed a great deal of popularity throughout the years, but recently has stagnated.
Other countries like Belgium, Holland, England and Spain, this last one with the Molecular trend, all have undergone a quest for renovation and innovation, while Italy and France, the two culinary colossi of Europe, have been sitting on their glorious past without reinventing their cuisine.
“I feel like a pioneer in a new quest for the renaissance of Italian cuisine,” says Chef Gianfranco. “There are great chefs in Italy still striving to break out of the box and to bring new trends into our cuisine, but they have chosen to stay in Italy. I left and travelled the world to gather and understand the differences and similarities. It is time for a radical change,” says the Chef.
Therefore the other main purpose of this book is to awaken and move the new generations of chefs to understand that ‘status quo’ and ‘comfort zone’ are often detrimental to the art, the mind and the soul.
The target:
The target of this culinary masterpiece is very eclectic. The book targets initially chefs of all levels, as it is a wake-up call for culinary fusion between cultures, to make bigger and better world cuisine. It also will be appealing to hobby chefs and foodies, due to the beauty and fantasy of these recipes to be enjoyed at family gatherings; these enthusiasts will take pride in executing top restaurant- and Michelin-level cuisine right at home.
Another important group is food engineers and food technicians, due to some of the cutting-edge techniques, ingredients and applications executed in this book in combination with real cooking. Yet another group could be photographers and food stylists, due to the quality of the pictures and the absolute non-use of special effects and artificial materials, only fresh food being used in the making of these recipes.
And last but not at least, cookbook collectors and historians, who will be fascinated by the food archeology presented in this book. It considers the influences and transformations from the Roman Empire to modern times. They will also enjoy the uniqueness of the volume and the charm of the chef’s personal touch. It is a deluxe limited edition and the first part of a trilogy. The first book called “The Emerald Book” will be officially launched in 2011, (although it is for sale right away, due to the demand for the holidays and seasons of the up coming December).
The second book (“The Pearl Book”) to be launched in 2012, and finally the third book (“The Ruby Book”) to be launched in 2013. All will be collectibles that at the end of the three years will proudly display “La tricolore” flag of Italy on the collector’s shelf. All part of a trilogy entitled: “The Culinary Jewels of the New Renaissance of Italy”
NOTE: Only 2000 copies of every color will be printed worldwide. These are special deluxe editions, and the chef cares passionately about quality and not quantity. Therefore remember every copy is a true jewel.
Each book will be personally autographed and dedicated by the hand of the chef, and delicately wrapped in onion paper and finally wax sealed with the sun symbol of the Renaissance of Italy, as a mark of distinction, when purchased directly through him.
When the book is purchased through Blurb, it will be of the same great quality, but the autograph from the chef will not be there, nor the special packaging. But you can follow the chef's pages linked below and connect to him. You can follow the chef and catch him in his book signature and culinary shows around the world, where he will be delighted to sign your book in person.
Rated amongst the best culinary books for 2011 by Rasegna Culinaria & Culinary Trends magazines. And in Australia sharing the first place with NOMA restaurant of the top 12 best cook books of 2010.
Click here to see the ratings: http://tinyurl.com/24oof9t
Find chef Chiarini in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianfranco_Chiarini
and do not forget to visit the Chefs web page at: http://www.executivechefgianfrancochiarini.com/
Chef. Gianfranco’s Michelin rated book has been successfully launched and it is for sale worldwide through the following sites:
PURCHASE THE WHOLE BOOK HERE:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1658620
