Having made its Gault&Millau UAE debut this year under the leadership of chef Guiseppe Pezzella, FIVE Palm Jumeirah’s Italian eatery Cinque has announced the appointment of new executive chef Mauro Di Leo.
Di Leo makes the move to FIVE from Raffles, The Palm, where he led the brigade at Matagi, earning himself a spot on Caterer Middle East’s 30 under 30 list.
The well-regarded Sicilian, who brings experience from UK kitchens, too, says the move feels like a natural fit. “I share an aligned bold, forward-thinking, out-of-the-box philosophy with FIVE,” he reveals. “FIVE is continually rewriting the rule book on hospitality. A lively, adventurous luxury lifestyle venue, Cinque will provide exceptional culinary-meets-entertainment immersive experiences for guests.”
Born in Palermo, Sicily, Di Leo’s culinary track record began during his school holidays as a child, working in the kitchen of his family’s seafood restaurant. He went on to hone his skills in London, training under Gordon Ramsay and Davide Degiovanni at Clapham Common’s renowned Osteria Dell’arte, before stints at the Dean Street Townhouse and Sumosan Twiga introduced elements of Japanese cooking to his Italian repertoire.
Announcing his next move, Di Leo said he would be seeking to introduce a selection of updated and refined takes on traditional Italian cuisine to Cinque’s menu, with luxury ingredients such as Oscietra caviar, belfago tuna and Alba white truffle taking centre stage alongside an elevated pizza selection.
“I’m Sicilian – so a vibrant love for finely crafted dishes that excite all your senses is deeply imbibed into my core sensibilities,” Di Leo adds. “I find Japanese and Italian cultures similar in many ways. I have read a lot of books and travelled to Japan multiple times, I love Hokkaido. Both cultures share a similar ideology of giving respect to food, which I find very fascinating. There is a lot of care and love in handling ingredients, and I am a strong believer that both flavours go extremely well together, so I try to fuse both to get the best of both worlds.”
Meanwhile, Di Leo’s predecessor Guiseppe Pezzella’s next move has not been revealed, but he will remain in the FIVE team.