Collection Magazine - Issue 1 - Autumn/Winter 22/23 - Magazine - Page 79
NORMA —
77
“ I used to cook with my mum. I was
used to seeing my mum cook, as well
as my grandma. So I was always quite
sure that this is what I wanted to do.”
When he’s not working, Giovann is known for being
quite green-fingered, and the last time we spoke, he told me
how he’d developed a bit of a passion for growing orchids.
Three years down the line, how are his plants doing? “Oh,
I do still grow my orchids,” he smiles. “I really do have a
lot of orchids.” Anything else he’s tried his hand at? “I’m
actually growing pumpkins this year on my balcony, which
is insane,” he laughs. “I saved some seeds from the kitchen
and I sowed them this year, and they are growing! I do have
quite a lot of plants. I think I get that from my mum, because
my mum is a massive fan of plants.”
He’s also an avid runner. “I’m actually running the
London Marathon this year, raising money for WhizzKidz,” he tells me, with work constraints meaning he has
to be incredibly disciplined with his time. “Everything is
timetabled!” he laughs. “I have to keep everything in line
otherwise I’ll miss my training, and I can’t do that if I’m
training for the Marathon. I think running is my break and
my time out — well, that and watering my plants!”
When time allows, Giovann also likes to try new restaurants.
“Anything Italian — I always get drawn to anything Italian.”
However, does his line of work make him more critical of food
when he’s in a restaurant? “I think it’s automatic that you’re a bit
more critical, not because you want to criticise, but because you
will automatically (start to) think that. I’m not one to complain. I
wouldn’t complain — unless I don’t receive my food!” he laughs.
“But I understand what it’s like, working in the industry, and
I think it would be silly if you don’t have an understanding. So
I’m a little bit critical, yes, but without wanting to be!”
Giovann’s deep-rooted love of Italian cuisine
seemingly extends far beyond trying out new restaurants,
which becomes apparent when I ask him where he sees
Norma going in the future. “What (I’d love to do) is to open
more restaurants that are the same standard and concept
as Norma, but with different Italian cuisine. So they’d have
that same brand so it’s all intertwined together, but at the
same time, each restaurant is unique. Because I think
Norma is very unique in what we do — and what we’re
doing is great — but that’s the way I see it moving ahead.
It’s just a dream of mine, probably, but that’s what I see —
with just a bit of variation and a bit of a twist.”
The chef remains incredibly proud of everything he
and his brigade are doing at Norma, and everything that
they have achieved thus far. “I put my heart and soul into
it because it was something I believed in back then (when
the restaurant first opened), and believe in still. Very much
so,” he says. “As I say, it’s brought me back to my roots, and
that is very important to me. I think the best thing about
working at Norma is that I have the freedom to create the
dishes that I want, and to put what’s in my head onto a
plate. I’ve got an amazing team, and they obviously help
me a lot; they’re very committed and loyal. But I think that’s
the best part — putting what’s in my head onto a plate
and actually making people happy with it. Making people
happy with the food I cook is my ultimate goal, really. As
long as you can make people happy, I think that is it.”
Happiness on a plate, from Italy via Malta — it’s worth
booking a table at Norma for that experience alone.
