If you ask Chef Antonio how his interest in food began, you get a funny little story about his enormous teenage appetite. In fact, as a teenager, he wanted to eat more or less constantly.

He claims he had to learn how to cook because otherwise he was spending all his pocket money on food! To his surprise, he discovered a talent he didn’t actually know he had. Just like that, a passion for eating transformed into a passion for cooking. In Italy, he worked in 4- and 5-star hotel chains as well as standalone trattorias but restless feet led him wandering over the world until they landed in Singapore. Chef Antonio’s Singapore story begins in 2002 as owner and chef of fine dining restaurant Fuenti. He still enjoyed cooking but he wasn’t too sure about administrative work. Missing the creative, wholly food-centred atmosphere of the kitchen, he made a surprising decision to give up his ownership in Fuenti to become the head chef of as-yet unopened Da Paolo Pizza Bar. His last ventures before Acqua e Farina were the uber-popular Bella Pizza and Bella Pasta, which he personally operated for several uninterrupted years before he finally felt the need to take a long break.