Chef Marina Paba, our General Manager, was born in Sicily "some" year ago. At just 4 years old, she started to help mom and grandmom to prepare handmade "gnocchi" and "macheroni" on Holidays and family reunions. After High school she moved to study Architecture at University of Reggio Calabria and she started to prepare meals for friends' parties. Everyone appreciates her dishes, but she never minds cooking as a job.

Studying and working she started her career in the Advertising & Marketing business and less than 6 years later set up her own company. Business ran well and she got important clients such as Lancaster Group, Capo Suvero Hotel & Resort, Comune di Roma, Gran Paradiso National Park. 

In 2000 she sold the company to become full time mom of Elisa. 

In 2006 her career in the culinary business restarted, as part time Sous Chef of the banquet division of a large business restaurant in Torino. Then, 3 years later, wishing to improve her technical skills, attended the Colombatto culinary school in Torino.

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One year later, with a friend sommelier with 19 years experience in hotel business, opened their own restaurant “Locanda del Casale” which quickly became very popular due to the original cuisine style, traditional with a modern healthy twist, and the wine list of Monferrato producers. 

After 3 years, the 2011 economic crisis struck the Piedmont area, and with the high tax pressure, they closed the restaurant and the Company. A few weeks later she joined the team for the new opening of the Mandarin Oriental Group’s Hotel in Taipei. She was Sous Chef at Bencotto, the Italian restaurant managed by Michelin starred chef Mario Cittadini. Soon she also got the position of Pastry chef and worked with the Executive Pastry chef Frank Haasnoot, crowned World Chocolate MasterChef in 2011.

 

In the next years, she accepted the proposal to become Head chef at “the warehouse” , the dining table of Osteria by Angie (the largest Italian F&B company in Taiwan) and teacher at Skills cook school.

After a company reorganisation she moved to Fullon Hotels and Resort, the largest Taiwanese hotel chain, with 14 branches of 4 and 5 star hotels. As a Corporate Executive Western Chef, she had the privilege to work with the celebrity chef Zheng Yanji (Master A-Ji) and manage the All Day Dining Restaurants of 7 branches to create the western cuisine menu.

 

After moving to UK in 2017 she has worked with such Michelin starred chefs as Aiden Byrne and Jason Atherton