I turn art, fermentation and seasonal markets into vibrant, healthy Italian-inspired menus.

Gigi Desi

I craft market-driven Italian cuisine that blends art, seasonality and wellbeing

I cook at the intersection of art and nature. In my laboratory kitchen I work with flours, seeds, and vegetable and tea fermentations to create dishes that truly nourish. I avoid processed sugars and low-value flours, choose local or Italian products from small farms, and let seasonality guide me. I love mixing cultures and eras and harmonizing shapes, colors and flavors, always plating with care and aesthetic sense.

I come from Naples, where I learned to cook with great ingredients and the market as my starting point. I cook the classics and also reinvent tradition—I love challenges. My specialties are fish, vegetables and pasta, and I can design a baroque dinner or a simple meal that still creates memories.

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I respect the nature of the ingredients.

What makes my cooking unique

I cook to make people happy

Cooking is my big passion, and I cook to make people happy. I design flavorful, balanced plates that celebrate seasonality and turn a meal into a warm, joyful experience.

I learned in my grandma’s home

I learned to cook in my grandma’s home in Naples, carrying forward an ancient awareness and respect for ingredients and techniques while exploring new ideas and fusions.

I honor each ingredient

I respect the nature of the ingredients: I choose small-farm produce, work with fermentation, avoid processed sugars, and let the market and the seasons lead my menus.

Chef Gigi Desi’s Menus

I offer curated, seasonal menus rooted in Italian tradition with creative Mediterranean and fusion touches. I focus on seafood, vegetables and pasta, and I happily adapt each menu to your preferences and the market.

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Stories and testimonials

Gigi was super professional and friendly and the food was extraordinary. He communicated really well to speak about our wishes and implemented it perfectly. Can highly recommend.

Jan Siering

This was a unique experience and I would recommend everyone to experience it once themselves

Gilda

For us it was the first time, that we tried something like that. We enjoyed every second of not. The food was like in a 5 Star restaurant.

Stephan Fruth

I wanted to do something special and different for my husband's birthday this year and having Gigi come over to cook for us was the right decision. From the first email contact Gigi communicated clearly and attentively. He took time to explain everything and make meal recommendations based on which fresh and in season ingredients were available on the market at the time. He was on time and came well prepared. Throughout the evening he was social and engaging yet professional and polite giving us enough privacy. He managed his way around our kitchen without much of our help. The food was prepared with care and every dish was unique in some way. The food quality was above most fancy restaurants' quality. It was fresh, light, and tastes were well balanced. My husband, our guest and I were all impressed. Gigi shared with us some of his kombucha that he produces which was delicious and we'll definitely be ordering more. He left the kitchen clean. Thank you Gigi for bringing great energy and tastes to our dinner party.

Elida Vikic

Gigi and Martha were a fantastic addition to our night, a surprise bday party for a friend. They were flexible with our dietary pref and in making changes to the menu. Their food was super delicious and their clean-up (majorly important to me) was impeccable. They struck the right balance between friendliness and professionalism so that guests felt comfortable around them but not obliged to engage in conversation. Little areas of improvement would be if one of them could top up people‘s wine throughout the night, as well as potentially ask people if they‘d like refills of their food (we did a buffet style dinner). Also, clean up of the main kitchen island throughout the evening could have happened more often so that the area always looked clean. Lastly, as we discussed with them, just some alignment around preparation time would be helpful, as the last dishes came out after some of our guests already had to leave, which was a shame since they were so delicious. They were super open to our feedback and absolutely interested in improvement, so I‘d have no hesitation at hiring them again. In fact, we certainly will! Thanks so much to the two of you for making our night so special and yummy!

Daniel Ludevig