I have worked with Giorgio Locatelli on several occasions, but never had the chance to hang out with him for a couple of days and to dine at his restaurant. When I take portraits of a chef I get a good feeling of who they are and the connection they have with food, (especially when food is incorporated in the shoot). However, when I have a chance to spend a day with a chef, at his or her restaurant, taste their food and hear them talk about it, I get the full impression of the passion they have for the food they make. Giorgio is very much one of those chefs that is eager to share his passion. His love for the bread they make on the premises was shared alongside his love for fresh ingredients and pasta.
This shoot was also working with a team from Italy, which meant that I didn’t understand much of the conversations, but in return Giorgio’s passion was worn even more on his sleeve than normal.
Giorgio has recently seen an increase in popularity in Italy as well as UK as he is now one of the judges in Italian Masterchef. When I stepped outside, his fans from Italy were pacing up and down in front of the restaurant hoping to get a glimpse of the great chef. One stopped me as I was taking some exterior shots and asked me, with eager eyes: “Is the chef inside”? I said I didn’t know, trying to allow Giorgio some privacy, but she took that as a ‘yes’, and continued to pace up and down in front of the restaurant, in the hope that he would come out - and she could look like she was casually passing by. As Giorgio came out, she jumped at the chance to get a selfie with the Chef. Giorgio agreed, and she walked away happily, glancing down at the image on her iPhone. Just another sign to prove my theory that the true passion for food is engrained in all Italians.
Shot for Cook Magazine
