From 14 January to 15 February 2025, some of Italy’s most celebrated chefs will participate in a four-week residency. Realised through a partnership between Belmond and Mandala Club the showcase will feature chefs from several iconic Italian properties. The acclaimed culinary talents include Chef Vania Ghedini, Chef Roberto Toro, Chef Daniele Sera and Chef Armando Aristarco.
The Italian culinary residency will see each chef immerse guests in the refined art of Villeggiatura. Each immersive dining experience during the Mandala Club x Belmond: A Taste of Italy showcase will be meticulously crafted. It will not just showcase regional Italian culture and heritage but also transport guests through captivating culinary storytelling.
The residency will bring the Castello Di Casole dining experience to Southeast Asia.
From Hotel Cipriani in Venice in the north, through Castello di Casole in Tuscany, Caruso in Campania to Grand Hotel Timeo in Sicily in the south, this epicurean odyssey is set to tantalise the palate with authentic flavours from across Italy that celebrate the true beauty of slow travel.
Speaking to The Peak, Chef Sera reveals his enthusiasm for his upcoming residency in Singapore. “I was very excited to learn that Castello di Casole, Tuscany was selected for this very exciting project. We are enthusiastic to bring a taste of our region to discerning guests who are very open to flavours and international cuisine.”
How would you define your approach to cuisine?
The cuisine we offer is one that we like to define as spontaneous and direct. We want the guest to be able to understand our proposal easily and immediately from the dish, and for this reason, we believe that the ingredients should not be too many. Each dish is created based mainly on three ingredients, where even the simplest ones are highlighted.
Chef Daniele Sera boasts a career that spans nearly 40 years.
Can you share a little about some of your earlier culinary influences and how they have shaped your career?
The most important impact for the apprentice cook is not a place but the person from whom one learns. For me, it was the encounter with chefs with a precise vision of Italian cuisine, with the flavors of our land. Like the great chef Angelo Paracucchi, one of the innovators of Italian cuisine. I met him at the end of the 80s in the region of Liguria, where I used to live
We understand that your time in Japan has had some influence. What were some of the techniques that you were drawn to personally?
In Japan, I saw and experienced many things, however this did not revolutionise my cuisine. I took away with me the cleanliness of flavours that distinguish Japanese cuisine, the fact that they are distinguishable and understandable, as well as fish cleaning techniques that I continue to practice in my kitchen.
Chef Sera’s cuisine is designed as a perfect fusion between terroir, experience as well as past and contemporary culture.
For your upcoming stint in Singapore, are you looking to incorporate some local influences or flavours into your cuisine?
In Singapore, we will be bringing contemporary Tuscan cuisine, linked to our territory with a clean plating aligned with modernity. Through the recipes and flavours, we wish to transport guests to our land, allowing them to have a culinary experiential journey.
You typically present the true flavours of the surrounding environment in your cuisine. As a chef how difficult is it to do so in a region so far removed from your own?
It’s not an easy task but we started from the search of the raw ingredients available in Singapore. Then, based on the selected ingredients we created a menu that brings to Singapore some of our signature dishes, with local ingredients that we will enhance in the best possible way.
Castello di Casole offers a creative blend of service, food, wine and beautiful surroundings
Taking logistic challenges into consideration – how will this shape your menu?
Our aim is to give our guests a culinary experience that is as close as possible to the one they would experience at our Restaurant Tosca, at Castello di Casole. We wish to instill curiosity in our diners, towards the flavours they will be experiencing with us at the Mandala Club. Through the ingredients and their combination, as well as the cooking techniques. We hope this will inspire them to travel to Tuscany and enjoy these culinary experiences in their regional and natural context.
Mandala Club x Belmond: A Taste of Italy featuring Chef Daniele Sera will take place from 4-8 February 2025.
