Born in Roncade near Venice, Stefano Antoniolli trained in Dubai, opened Da Vinci in Kyiv in 1999 and now supervises Avalon Restaurant in Kyiv and Ministerium Dogma Club in Odesa.
I'm 36, and I was born in Italy, in Roncade, not far from Venice. My professional path began when I was a child, and my family was always good at cooking.
My father worked at a restaurant, and when I was six I started helping him on weekends with big events like weddings and christening parties. At that age I already knew what I would do in the future.
Then I studied for five years at the Hotel Business School in Italy and received a Professional Chef Diploma. After that, I worked and trained for two years in Dubai at the five-star Le Meridien Forte Grand hotel. By then it had already been named Best Airport Hotel Worldwide, and its Italian restaurant had been recognized as the best Italian restaurant abroad.
Then I came back to Italy, because I had to serve in the army. In the army, I served in the kitchen and cooked for high-ranking officers. After that I was offered the chance to open the Italian restaurant Da Vinci on European Square in Kyiv. That was in 1999.
I also took part in opening Da Vinci in Kharkiv and Leo Club in Kyiv. After a while, the owners of Avalon Restaurant in Kyiv and Ministerium Dogma Club in Odesa offered me a contract. Now I'm a supervisor of these restaurants, so to speak.
I'm married. My wife's name is Olga, and she lives in Kyiv. My son is 8 years old and will soon be in second grade.
I became a chef at 23, when I came to Kyiv, which is unusual for Italy. Italy is very attached to its traditional cuisine. In Kyiv, besides cooking classic dishes, I had the chance to look for new combinations and new ways of serving and presentation, because people here are ready to try something new. Besides, the owners are very open-minded, so I have the opportunity to fulfill my potential and not deal only with classic dishes.
I like my work and everything related to it. I like meeting famous chefs and learning from them, and I like discovering new methods. I read a lot of books about my profession, attend courses and visit other restaurants.
I like decorating dishes and tables for drinks receptions, and carving landscapes and sculptures out of vegetables and fruits. I like surprising guests. Today the culinary world is an art with many different areas, and I like them all.
I dream of having my own restaurant in Italy, because my roots, after all, remain in my home country. I want to be involved with a dish from the very beginning, from growing the products, right through to the very end, because I want a 100% result.
I don't like aggressive people, people who don't respect the work of others and don't understand how much went into it. I like peace, because it gives me the chance to think and create. That's why I try not to be rude to my employees, and instead I explain their mistakes and help them correct them. I think the atmosphere at work should be pleasant, and people should be in a good mood.
I speak four languages fluently: Italian, Russian, French and English, plus a bit of Ukrainian and Spanish. I like foreign languages, and I'm good at learning them. I'd also like to learn Chinese and Japanese.
To readers, especially cooks and chefs, I'd like to give just one piece of advice: never stop developing, read books, exchange experience with other chefs and never be afraid to try something new. Sometimes an idea can't be realized at a given moment, because the means to do it don't exist yet. But you can always put it aside and come back to it later.
I chose the dish Black Fettuccine with Salmon because it represents the development of cooking and the movement from the past to the present. Besides, don't forget I'm Italian, and pasta is what people associate with Italians.
