Head Chef Giuseppe Angelica @ Acqua Restaurant, Grand Kempinski Hotel Shanghai

There is a new head chef in town, and he is looking to make a name for himself through his larger than life personality and creative, playful dishes. 

We travelled across the Huangpu to go to Acqua Restaurant at the Grand Kempinski Hotel in Lujiazui for lunch, to have a chat with the new Head Chef, Giuseppe Angelica, and to get a summertime recipe for all Talk readers. We were introduced to the chef as he was midway through the punch line to a joke with his Chinese kitchen staff. We were immediately taken in by his light-hearted attitude and infectious nature. Angelica has been in the restaurant industry for over a decade and this is his largest project to date, but he doesn’t let this ruin his excitable disposition. He admitted to us that he never loses his temper in the kitchen, apart from one Gordon Ramsay- esque incident whilst working in London...

Talk: Why did you become a chef and why did you move to Shanghai?

Giuseppe Angelica: I became a chef because my family ran a corner shop in Bologna, just in front of the Ferrari museum, so I grew up in the kitchen. I’m in Shanghai because I arrived in China seven years ago. I was one of the seven chefs in Beijing for the Olympic Games. And then, after that amazing experience in the Italian pavilion, I moved for the Expo in 2010, in Shanghai. So I arrived in 2009, and I’ve been here since.

Talk: What is your signature dish at this restaurant?

GA: My signature dish is the nicóise salad because it is a summer dish with lots of fresh elements and fresh ingredient for the really, really hot season.

Talk: You have been at Acqua Restaurant for one month now. What are your big plans and how are you going to leave your mark on this Italian eatery?

GA: My big plan is grow this place and also Albero, because he is my cousin just next door, the Spanish restaurant. For now it’s enough because not many people know Acqua Restaurant, but not because the marketing was not good, but because there was no Italian atmosphere. Before, there was a Dutch chef and the Executive Chef was German, but I think that an Italian restaurant must offer the right atmosphere, from the music to the chef.

Talk: So you are putting your personality in the restaurant then?

GA: Yes, yes!

Talk: So you’re planning on staying in Shanghai forever? Or are you going to escape back to Bologna?

GA: I miss Bologna and Italy. I miss my family, but I am not considering going back. I feel like a tourist in Italy now. My position here, at 33 years old, is at a higher level compared to my Italian colleagues at 33 years old in Italy. Maybe, in Italy, you have your own section, but we are a surplus there and I feel very, very good in China. China is a developing country compared to Italy. Italy I love, but there is a recession; the economy is a bit different than over here.

Talk: When you are not eating Italian food, what is you favourite Chinese dish?

GA: Can I say Asian dish?

Talk: Nope, Chinese.

GA: Wonton, dumplings.

Talk: Well that is quite similar to ravioli.

GA: I come from Bologna, tortellini pasta is our culture!

Talk: Oh that is cheating!

GA: Maybe it is because they are very similar, and of course they are also nice. Italian cuisine and Chinese cuisine are similar. I mean wonton and dumplings are similar to ravioli and tortellini. You can also say the same for spaghetti and Chinese noodles.

Talk: What dish do you miss from home that you can’t get here?

GA: Nothing, I can make it! I don’t want to lie to you, but I don’t miss any Italian food. We even have wood oven pizza. It’s the stereotype! You can find real Italian food just like in Italy. We have brought over flour. Ok, you want an original pizza? I will make it for you with imported Panna water too because the water changes the taste. Pizza is water and flour, and Shanghai water is not the best; you know that [chuckles]. That’s why it’s better in Italy, but we can make it here!

Talk: Now that you have given us your “secret”, signature nicóise salad recipe, why should we come back to your restaurant?

GA: I can easily give you the recipe, but in the salad at my restaurant we have ten ingredients, nine of which are imported. The anchovies are imported from Sicily, the olives are imported from three different regions in Italy, from Genova, from Rome and from Puglia – three different colour of olives and three different suppliers. Maybe these are stupid things for you, but it is what makes my salad amazing, and you cannot replicate that at home.

Grand Kempinski Hotel, Shanghai. 1288 Lujiazui Huan Lu, near Dongyuan Lu. Tel: 3867 8888. Web: www.kempinski.com