Francesco Sposito

Francesco Sposito

Francesco Sposito

Aged thirty-one, Francesco Sposito became Italy’s youngest two-star chef, cooking his unique reinterpretation of Naples cuisine, with modernist international flair, at his family’s restaurant near Mount Vesuvius.

Francesco Sposito was born in Naples, where good food was woven into the fabric of life: ‘The smell of tomato sauce in the hall of the buildings, the smell of the embers on the balconies that were used to roast the artichokes…’ His father Armando, formerly a teacher, had left the academic world behind to follow his passion for cooking, purchasing Taverna Estia in the town of Brusciano, near Mount Vesuvius. Francesco was in his teens when he first entered his father’s kitchen. He told us: ‘This job wasn't in my plans, it wasn't what I wanted to do when I was little. I started doing it to spend time with my family. If we wanted to spend some time together we had to come here to the restaurant. But when I realised what it was about, I completely fell in love with it.’

He studied classics, but after completing his studies turned his attention fully to cooking. His desire to grow as a chef, to keep learning, took him abroad. First came Paris, at Arpège with Alain Passard, which held three Michelin stars. Here he was schooled in modernist cooking technique and like Passard, developed an appreciation for the enormous variety of spices and seasonings the world has to offer. In 2002 he moved on to work with Igles Corelli, long-time head chef of the legendary two-star Trigabolo restaurant. Working together on Corelli’s new venture, Locanda della Tamerice, in the wetland nature reserve of Ostellato in northeast Italy, in this great chef he found a second father, crediting him with unlocking his talent and passion for cookery.

By 2005, Francesco was making a name for himself, both in Italy and beyond. He spent some time in Japan, further honing his culinary skills, but ideas for his own restaurant, his own cuisine, were at the forefront of his mind. He returned to head the kitchen of his father’s restaurant in 2006, winning his first Michelin star that year at the age of only twenty-four. He told us: ‘At the restaurant we used to make dishes in the traditional way, making traditional Neapolitan cuisine. When I came back I brought with me the desire, the determination, to create a different kind of restaurant. My whole family allowed me to do that, they supported my will to do this job at a higher level. Today when I look over my shoulder I believe I have been very lucky, I think we are on the right track. When I decided to take on the responsibility of the kitchen, I found myself managing something bigger than myself, bigger than my experience. There have been tough times, there still are, but I am convinced that, for any kind of job, with tenacity, passion and love you can succeed.’ Together with his brother Mario, the sommelier and restaurant manager, they have built the traditional taverna into a remarkable restaurant over the past ten years, with their second Michelin star being awarded in 2014; aged thirty-one Francesco became the youngest two-star chef in Italy. The restaurant also holds three hats in L’Espresso and three forks in Gambero Rosso – Italy’s other highly regarded guides.

Francesco’s food is greatly influenced by his time abroad and his signature style reveals a mix of these international influences. He says: ‘It certainly opened my mind to new ingredients and new techniques. Every experience has been different from each other, but the most important experience was definitely Japan – it taught me discipline, but also tradition and innovation. In Italy, for the past ten, fifteen years, we have brushed that aside. We haven't found the right balance.’ But it is very much the legacy of Naples culinary traditions that form the backbone of his food: ‘I use memories of my childhood to reinterpret dishes for the menu. I put some poor, traditional dishes, or elements of them, on the menu and for me the results were great. I am always researching and analysing, so I can serve the dishes that come from my childhood and are part of my life, part of my historic food memory. Above all, I would like to serve food that comes from the Neapolitan tradition, from Neapolitan housewives. I am sure that, little by little, with development and maturity, I will be able to propose a kind of food that will grow together with people, as I grow and my team grows.’ This new cuisine takes in dishes with distinctly Italian flavours such as Pistachio fettuccine with mortadella and leek emulsion and Risotto with lemon-vanilla jam, purple prawns, clams and pistachio oil, while the influence of his travels can be seen in dishes such as Calvados-marinated foie gras torchon with fig and cocoa purée. The nearby bounty of the sea can also be found regularly on his plates, such as in this Squid ink puff with burrata, purple shrimp, mandarin and tarragon oil.

With two-stars already under his belt at such a young age, we asked him what the future holds: ‘Our ambitions for the future are open. This restaurant was opened fifteen years ago and our ideas then were different, it was born as an ordinary restaurant. This is only a starting point for us – we are young and we want to challenge ourselves. I have been very lucky, I would have never imagined we would be awarded with two Michelin stars. When I started looking at the "grande cuisine", I worked from the ground up. Today I have reached a good level, but I won't stop, that's for sure! The journey has just started, the road is long, so I have to put my head down. I hope we continue to achieve good results, but for now, the pressure is enough!’