Is this Hong Kong’s hottest chef? Meet Marcello Scognamiglio, the Italian chef de cuisine tearing up the menu at Grissini in the Grand Hyatt
Marcello Scognamiglio hails from the sunny Italian coast of Naples and grew up in a culture surrounded by Mediterranean flavours from southern Campania. This, naturally, played a formative role in his passion for the culinary arts.
“I think most chefs agree that the inspiration for creation comes from our memories. In my case, it would be my childhood that I spent in Naples and the type of ingredients I think about will be things like tomatoes, seafood, fresh ingredients,” says Scognamiglio, who took up the role of chef de cuisine at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong’s Grissini in 2019, after stints in Michelin-starred restaurants in France, the Maldives and Thailand.
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Scognamiglio takes inspiration from his life experiences to bring authentic southern Italian fare to the city, while pushing the boundaries of gastronomic creativity.
While most of Hong Kong’s restaurateurs agree that recent dining restrictions were a suffocating experience, the 30-year-old chef was determined to bounce back even stronger. During Grissini’s temporary pause at the height of the pandemic, the restaurant underwent a drastic transformation under Scognamiglio’s leadership.
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Not only did he seek out a vision for change, but Scognamiglio also wanted to transform the feeling at Grissini itself. This he did by including an open space for preparation in the dining area to make the experience more relaxed, moving away from the stuffy vibe of traditional fine dining.
“Nowadays the dining experience is more casual and friendly – while serving refined dishes at the same time,” he explains.
Arguably, his most significant move was giving Grissini’s menu its most complete overhaul in more than two decades. While serving modern interpretations of Italian classics, Scognamiglio’s new menu includes original dishes with Neapolitan flair that are near and dear to his heart, along with techniques he picked up over the years.
One Grissini signature dish that has diners returning repeatedly is yellowtail carpaccio served with a burnt artichoke leaf sauce and sea asparagus, influenced by the chef’s childhood memories of street food in the Neapolitan countryside. “It’s my favourite because it’s one of the first dishes that opened my mind to create new dishes in a certain way,” says the chef.
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Scognamiglio says that despite the bold decision to revamp Grissini’s menu, even loyal patrons who have dined there since the beginning have been returning for his contemporary creations.
Other new signatures include Roman clay pot-baked chicken and slow-cooked veal in tuna sauce. “I believe that those are the marks that will stand out at my time at Grissini,” he adds.
Most importantly for Scognamiglio, the changes he has brought in come from a desire, shared by a new generation of chefs, to break free from the shackles of fine dining “without needing to be too pretentious”.
While many might consider going to fine dining restaurants only for celebrations like birthdays and anniversaries, Scognamiglio wants to remove the “stigma” that such restaurants are only appropriate for special occasions.
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The elegance of the Grand Hyatt and the restaurant’s panoramic view of Victoria Harbour form a stark contrast to the pans and clay pots now brought out to customers’ tables, with the tiramisu being scooped out of a large bowl. It kindles an atmosphere reminiscent of an Italian nonna’s (grandmother) kitchen.
This, paired with Scognamiglio’s refined take on Italian fare, are the dichotomy that diners experience at Grissini today.
- After working in Michelin-starred restaurants in France, the Maldives and Thailand, the Naples native brought his Mediterranean flavours to the city in 2019
- The nimble-fingered 30-year-old revamped the menu to make the dining experience less pretentious, ‘more casual and friendly – while serving refined dishes’