As the son of a fisherman, Sicilian chef Angelo Aglianó brings memories of the Mediterranean to the Michelin table
- The director of one-Michelin-starred Tosca grew up by the sea, worked for renowned French chef Joël Robuchon and opened his own restaurants in Asia
- These experiences culminated in the chef’s own brand of authentic Italian cuisine, with which he aims to evoke an emotional response from diners
As a child, Sicilian chef Angelo Aglianó used to look out at the Mediterranean Sea every morning as his fisherman father set off to work. Today, as the director of one-Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Tosca di Angelo at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, he can still be found gazing out over the water from the 102nd floor at the hotel where the restaurant sits.
“The ocean is everything to me,” Aglianó says. “It gives me a sense of freedom; it is my source of inspiration.”
When Aglianó turned eight years old, he was deemed ready to start fishing with his father. “I was so happy, but it was then that I truly understood how difficult his job is,” says the chef, now 45. “You’re dependent on nature; sometimes you stay out for more than 10 hours and nothing happens. It’s a big sacrifice.”
That revelation, coupled with weekends when his grandmother and mother cooked fresh seafood, further cemented his love and appreciation for the ocean and what it has to offer. One of those weekend dishes made a particularly deep impact: matalotta fish soup cooked with olives, capers and garlic.
“You have all the aromas from Sicily,” says Aglianó, who adapted the dish for Tosca’s menu using Hong Kong grouper. “The dish is authentic to my memory and my experiences as a chef in various cities.”
