Whether he's tattooing you, cooking for you, or simply holding court in Bambino, his tiny 30-seater Italian eatery on Shaanxi Rd N., one thin is true about Lucky Lasagna: he will leave a lasting impression on you. We recently sat down with the Italian ad man-artist-tattooist-turned-chef-caterer-restaurateur for some excellent tagliatelle bolognese, octopus alla puttanesca, Roman-style tripe, and a conversation that ranged from food influencers to tattoos. Here is a little taste.
You went from advertising to cooking. I imagine you had some kind of, "Screw it I quit!!!!!" moment to make that kind of career move. Tell us about that.
No, it just happened naturally, actually, more than 25 years ago. It all happened because of a colleague and good friend. We just loved food. We ate and cooked and talked about food a lot. So, we started taking a serious food course in Italy. We studied seafood for two years.
One time, our friend, the owner of a big advertising company, had to sign a big contract. So, she asks us, "If I buy you the uniform and you come to cook in my house, can we do it?" We did it. The people sitting at the table were all from huge, big brands in Italy. And they liked our food. So, they started to call us more and more. Gradually, we became better paid. The job became more fun. But we didn't have a car, so we went to our customers on motorbikes. Someone noticed, and we started getting featured on television and in magazines.
Starting from upper left going clockwise, freshly baked focaccia, a burrata salad, ham croquettes with a warm bechamel center, and beef carpaccio.
So, you paint. Do you have formal art training as well?
Formal? No. I have been cooking and drawing for as long as I can remember. I did get some formal training in tattooing. When you tattoo someone, you're basically engraving the skin. So, that was one kind of formal training, but it was more technical.
Were you doing this in your own home, or did you start your own tattoo studio at that point?
No, no. I was doing this with friends because we were a punk and tattoos were a thing.
What were your first impressions of Shanghai when you arrived here 14 years ago?
So I arrived from this place that was a small place with a small house, a blue sky, rivers, and forests, and I remember moving to Yan'an Rd, looking around me, and seeing such a gray sky – not like now where Shanghai has much bluer skies. I was thinking to myself, "Oh shit, I'm in Gotham City. Can I survive here?
How did you like the food?
As a person who loves to eat, it was crazy – always something new to discover. In Italy, the Chinese food we have, it's a super touristic idea of Chinese food, it's not real. So, I loved discovering something so good. The noodles! I was ready for noodles. I would eat tons of noodles everywhere. The dumplings! Beautiful. Incredible.
Octupus alla puttanesca (tomatoes, garlic, olives, capers, and anchovies, simmered and reduced to create a rich, aromatic sauce.)
Do you remember any particular dish that left an impression on you?
Those big soup dumplings you get at Yuyuan Garden, the ones with the straw. That one for me was really… just "Whoa!"
Tell us about the first dish you cooked that you were proud of.
It was a black ink risotto. So, I used the fresh cuttlefish, its liver for flavor and its ink for color. It was a super complex dish. I was in my 20s, and I impressed even myself that I could make something like that.
Buratta salad, fresh tomatoes. Simple. Delicious.
What is the best thing about the food scene in Shanghai?
I love the sense of community. A lot of us are friends, and we help each other a lot. This never happens anywhere else. It's very, very, very beautiful. I also like it because it's super dynamic. If you want to have success, you have to keep improving. You do not sit down in your comfort zone. You move, move, push, push, push, move, move. Change, change, change, fast, change.
Do you think it's made you a better chef?
Absolutely.
What have you learned?
Right now, I use a lot of soy sauce in my food. I'm using it instead of salt.
Spaghetti alla chitarra con gamberi (Director's note: An outstanding dish).
Why?
Curiosity. My love for umami. Soy sauce is a complex salt. It's also super nice to use because it's already liquid.
What do you like least about the food scene?
This isn't just a Shanghai thing. It's more general. I don't like the word 'foodies.' Some people have this passion or hobby to speak about other people's jobs. I don't know if there are many other jobs out there where every day you are publicly judged by someone, often by someone who doesn't even know how to cook. But somehow, they are enough of an expert to speak about food? Tell you what, YOU cook!
I really don't like what social media is doing to food. You're in a restaurant and you have a problem. If you're a normal human being, you call the manager and solve the problem. Don't just have your revenge by writing a nasty review on Dianping during your taxi ride home. The whole thing is weird.
I just don't understand the point of a hobby where all you do is try to bring other people down. When I say "foodies", I don't mean everyone. There are plenty of those people who are my friends. I just mean the people who just want to cause harm to honest, hard working people in F&B.
What kind of food trend do you want to see die?
Fake fine dining – plating with flowers, a line of sauce and cooking in a stupid way without any sense. Just building a dish from the plating, how it looks, not from the cooking point of view. That kind of stupid thing, yes, it can go.
What do you want to see more of?
What I love is a lot of young people coming out, like the guys at Yaya's, Cometa, and Sage. There are a lot of young chefs out there who are doing amazing work. I want more of that. These young people with all this energy that you have in your 20s and 30s. They push so much. I love them all.
Do you see yourself doing this for the rest of your life? What's the next pivot?
I have no idea. But if something comes along in life that I think is more interesting, why should I miss the opportunity? Maybe it will happen again. I don't know.
(If you want to give Bambino a try add this WeChat account to make reservations: 131-6629-6689)