Chef Costantino Nuzzo

Dedication to work and determination to achieve my goals have always accompanied me on my professional path, without this I would probably have failed. Having arrived in the UK, with five years of cooking school in Italy behind me, my baptism in the London kitchen was at Cipriani. I never thought I would get the job. I did my trial shift on Friday and the next day I was called by them with a job offer.

It is essential to always keep up to date, I don't want to sit back on my laurels and be satisfied with doing well with what I already know, I don't want to adapt to just one style, method, or type of cuisine. In the kitchens of Floridita (now 100 Wardour Street), for example, I found myself working in a kitchen that catered to 500 people per evening, it was really hard. There were many chefs with much more experience than me, and I observed and tried to learn as quickly as possible. Soon I found myself alone and it was I who intervened to lend a hand to my much more famous colleagues. Under pressure, I gave my best and after less than 8 months I was promoted and named Employer of the Year.