Rocco Iannone

"The sea, the land, colours, flavours, aromas, authenticity. All of these go into making a dish. It is the start and end of a journey around our emotions, the history of a people. Watching nature come to life at dawn, and watching the fishermen return to port at nightfall. My name is Rocco Iannone, I'm 34. Of course, it's all about cooking... but most importantly it's about choosing. About technique, but more importantly respecting your ingredients. Globalisation is taking over and it's more and more difficult for us to find our way, but I like to focus on simplicity. We never choose things by chance. Think for a minute about nature, its complexity and its great power to surprise us. For me cooking is about searching, wanting, breathing. It does us good to dedicate some time to ourselves. Make yourselves comfortable. Whatever the secret of happiness is, it's up to each of us to understand it. Sometimes a lifetime isn't long enough. Perhaps it's in our children's eyes, in a kind gesture by a friend or a parent. Cooking is all of this. It's a whole approach to life. Generosity, hard work, humility but not humiliation, ignoring the latest fads and trends. All that's left for us to do is rediscover the moments of our childhood. Finding ourselves again. Touching a freshly-picked apple, breathing in the perfume of dew-soaked basil, waiting for the right time to press olives. Patience, a dose of courage and a pinch of salt."

The young Michelin-starred chef Rocco Iannone runs the Forte Gourmet Restaurant at Forte Village Resort.