The theater manager
Confident and smiling, he strides out of his kitchen. Dressed head-to-toe in black, unashamedly sporting a multitude of tattoos on his forearms and an earring in each ear, Jacopo Romagnoli surprises and displeases. Just as his cooking is as mischievous as it is relaxed, the chef behind the stoves of the highly acclaimed Café de la Plage nestled in the heart of Geneva’s Grand Théâtre, is causing quite a stir. A discreet character, his cuisine speaks for itself. Let’s push open the doors of this temple of culture on the Place de Neuve and find out who’s behind this chef, who’s only in the early stages of a long and successful career.
Edouard Amoiel
Toque toujours
Milanese by birth, he speaks the language of Molière perfectly, having worked in various French kitchens. But let’s go back in time. His madeleine de Proust? Family dishes prepared by a grandmother with a passion for produce and respect for the seasons. Vitello tonnato, baked fish and lasagne were all part of her early childhood. “We used to make up our own plates right at the table. There was always plenty of food to share,” he recalls. Jacopo Romagnoli didn’t imagine he’d be working among the toques, but he decided to take the plunge after an open day at the École César Ritz, which is looking for new student talent.
This was followed by a flurry of professional experiences as innovative as they were prestigious. Jacopo Romagnoli doesn’t limit himself to one culinary style, but takes advantage of a number of kitchen internships to perfect his curriculum vitae as well as his palate. There’s no stopping him! After a short stint in a luxury hotel in Cyprus, he joined the brigade at Domaine de Châteauvieux. The adventure with Philippe Chevrier marked a turning point in the budding chef’s career. “We’d arrive in the morning at 07:00 and start the day by making sauces and juices. It was a high-performance kitchen, in which I immediately felt alive, as well as an extraordinary physical experience”. He discovered the notion of gesture: plucking game, tying up a quail or drizzling butter over a veal chop with a sprig of thyme and a few cloves of garlic.
Edouard Amoiel
Meetings
He then made the (almost obligatory) move to Paris, where he landed a job alongside Stéphane Pitré, chef at Le Louis restaurant. The two of them mastered the flame of this former kebab shop transformed into a gourmet restaurant, and it was at this point that Jacopo finally took off. At the age of 20, he lives and breathes cooking, and already aspires to discover the world… next stop, Bogota! “Being a chef in the Third World completely changed my approach to the profession. It was a unique experience that radically changed me. He leaves the Colombian capital for the megalopolis of New York. Another environment, another style, and it was Daniel Humm, Manhattan’s most Swiss of chefs, who took him under his wing at his three-starred
It was here that Jacopo Romagnoli met Benjamin Luzuy, a seasoned restaurateur who was quickly won over by the Milanese’s culinary skills. Their shared gastronomic passions soon led to the Café de la Plage in Geneva, where he rediscovered his culinary skills. Let us be seduced by a declination of asparagus, crispy egg yolk, Niels Rodin citrus fruits and satay sauce, or roasted skrei cod, salt-crusted celeriac and chorizo. The future looks bright and promises to be full of gourmet delights.
