The explosion of chef Giorgio Locatelli’s restaurant. Streetfoodnews.it
“Our kitchen no longer exists, there is a huge crater on the outside wall,” says chef Locatelli, describing the explosion in the restaurant.
To the star chefs who appear in the various shows of Italian television cuisine, Chef Locatelli He is one of the new additions, but he immediately captured the audience.
As a matter of fact Locatelli appears for the first time on Italian screens as a guest on the show Master Chef Italy during the seventh season, which continued has been broadcast since 2018. He was then chosen by production as a replacement the following year Antonia Klugmannwhich in turn had replaces Carlo Cracco.
The chef, born in the province of Varese, is a son of art, In fact, the family ran the Michelin-starred restaurant La Cincianella for years on Lake Comabbio. So after graduating, young Giorgio decided to devote himself to cooking. In 1983 he decided to leave Italy to pursue his passion, first in London and then in Paris, where he gained years of experience in various restaurants.
There first Michelin star the Conqueror directly in Londonin 1999, with the Zafferano Restaurantthe second comes in 2003, still in the same city but with a different restaurant, Locanda Locatelli opened with his wife for just one year.
The accident that destroyed Giorgio Locatelli’s restaurant
“It was round 11:40 p.mI was in the kitchen finishing the service with other colleagues when suddenly there was a very loud bang, like a bomb! A Terrorist attack: That’s the first thing I thought. The violent shock caused us all to fall to the ground and before the lights went out, I even saw the shockwave of the explosion pass in front of me! They were terrible moments: as soon as it became completely dark, part of the ceiling began to fall on us and we were sure that everything had collapsed.
With these words a young assistant to chef Locatelli speaks about theAccident occurred in 2014 in the “Locanda Locatelli”. A violent explosion, believed to be due to a gas leak, breaks the silence of the London night, leaving over 500 displaced and around fifteen injured, five of whom are hospitalized.
The Locanda Locatelli restaurant in London. Photo Facebook Streetfoodnews.it
What happened after the Locanda Locatelli explosion?
After the explosion, the chef said he was devastated and said in some interviews that he had even considered quitting his business. The place he and his wife had worked so hard to build had been swept away in an instant.
Today, if Locanda Locatelli is still there in London, the restaurant where it is said that even the Queen enjoyed eating, is thanks to his wife and daughter Margherita, who inherited Giorgio’s passion. In addition to being a vegan, the girl also appears to suffer from various food allergies, which led both her and her father to rethink cooking in a more inclusive way. The problem became an incentive to do better and expand the offering.