Italian chef Denis Lucchi on his journey, and cooking food for Singaporeans

Growing up on the aroma of fresh pasta braised meat and ragu a sauce made with minced meat and served with pasta Italian chef Denis Lucchirsquos fondest memories are of those Sundays when his grandmother would wake up very early and spend several hours cooking for the whole family His Michelinstar Italian restaurant Buona Terra which means good earth in Italian is housed in the extended wing of Chateau TCC in Singapore It offers contemporary Italian cuisine that emphasises seasonal sourcing of the freshest and finest ingredients from across the globe to create edible masterpiecesTagliatelle tartThe past week he made his maiden visit to India and visiting Mumbai and Bengalurumdashoffering his specialities starting from a root salad with pear citrus and horseradish and ending with yoghurt panna cotta with strawberry and basil Brought to India by sommelier and founder of All Things Nice Nikhil Agarwal each of the five courses was paired with a wide range of wine by owner of famed Moulin de Gassac Basile GuibertEdited excerpts from the interviewFrom culinary school at 14 to Rome and London and finally Singaporemdashhow did that happenRaised in Lago di Garda a huge lake and tourist place in the Northern Italy I opted for a culinary school near home for secondary education While working at restaurants during summer vacation I realised my love for professional kitchens Later working with people from different nationalities in London opened my mind When I returned I travelled to parts of Italy that I hadnrsquot been to before but my heart yearned for exploring a new country Coincidentally a classmate of the chef I worked for in London was opening a restaurant in Singapore and needed an Italian chef He was the owner of Garibaldi a Michelinstar Italian restaurant and bar in Singapore I landed in Singapore and never leftIl rombo estivoWhat led you to start Buona Terra Why did you decide to go for a set menu instead of a la carteWhen I first moved to Singapore the culinary scene was very slow and different Things changed after celebrity chefs started coming in to open some very good restaurants It made me think that this is the place where I could do something for myself with the food I wanted to create In 2012 we started Buona Terra as a classic Italian restaurant doing what others were doing But in five years we moved in a different direction to create our own identity We decided to focus on the quality of ingredients and food offer only a set menu without compromising on our Italian roots and create a space where our customers allow us to give them a whole experience instead of just coming in and wanting to have their meal in a few minutesWhat does the set menu offerIt offers an escalation of flavours over the five coursesmdashwe start with the mildest flavours and serve the strongest at the end of the menu I cook Italian food using a wide range of seasonal ingredients staying true to my Italian roots I donrsquot offer any fusion of cuisines I want my customers to feel that they are having authentic Italian foodHow difficult is sourcing for ingredients in SingaporeI am in Asia so it is not easy to source every material from Italy and it does have some bearing For instance if you are in Italy you have access to ingredients at a stonersquos throw distancemdashyou can buy fresh ingredientsproduce from a friend farmer fisherman or hunter The freshness and quality of products makes a huge difference We try to compensate by searching worldwide trying to find the best ingredient available and using it in the Italian wayBuona Terra completes 10 years this month How has the journey been so farWe have received many recognitions besides a Michelin starmdashwe have been placed in the top 50 Italian restaurants in the world we have been recognised by Gambero Rosso an Italian guide and all of this feels nice But the best recognition has been to see the restaurant almost full every day for lunch as well as dinner Initially we were struggling but now customers understand what we do and are willing to come on board this journey with us We are looking at expanding probably in Singapore and overseasHelming Buona Terra the oneMichelin star restaurant Chef Denis Lucchirsquos contemporary take on fine Italian gastronomy has helped him chart the choppy waters of the Singaporersquos dining sceneHow different is cooking Italian food in Italy versus that in SingaporeCooking in Singapore for those who live there is very different because their taste buds and childhood memories are different from mine I grew up on fresh pasta People here would want their food to be less creamy or have more garlic or chillimdashwhich is fine because it is also a part of Italian cuisine The main difference however is that while Italian comfort food could be boring for an Italian here in Singapore our patrons find our comfort food to be extremely good For example Pasta Bolognese is super basic for usmdashwe grew up on our grandma cooking dishes like braised ragu so itrsquos no biggie but here if you make it for a customer they appreciate it because itrsquos not something that they had growing upOn the chefrsquos tablepoundA dish that spells comfort to you Braised beef or porkpoundIf you could host three people alive or dead for dinner who would they be Diego Maradona who is my favourite soccer play Bob Marley I grew up listening to his songs on freedom and my grandmother who passed away before she could see me as a chef so it would be fantastic to cook for her since she cooked for me all my childhoodpoundAn Indian dish you love Naan with chicken masala is my alltime favouritepoundThree ingredients you canrsquot do without Extra virgin olive oil parmesan cheese and tomatopoundOne tip to get Italian food right Always think that you are cooking for the person you love no matter who you are cooking forpoundAdvice for young Indian chefs to be Michelinworthy Believe in what you are doing Choose your identity set a goal and go straight in that direction Listen to all the feedback from customers but keep only the ones that you need the most to reach your goal