Alessandro Pavoni

While ‘Italian food’ has long been popular, many of the dishes people typical associate with it hale from the south. It’s a long way from the sparkling Mediterranean waters of Sicily to the snow-covered Italian Alps however, and the food is also very different. There’s a lot about northern Italian food that we have yet to learn and Alessandro Pavoni, whose cooking is firmly rooted in the traditions of his home region of Lombardy, wants to rectify this. After working at some of northern Italy’s most renowned restaurants, including Ristorante Carlo Magno in Brescia and Villa Fiordaliso on Lake Garda, Alessandro followed his heart to Australia. He first came to notice when he took over the burners at harbourkitchen&bar in the Park Hyatt Sydney in 2005. In late 2009, with his Australian wife Anna, he created modern fine-diner Ormeggio at the Spit, where the Middle Harbour location reminds him of northern Italy’s lakes. A few years later, he opened neighbouring trattoria Chiosco to celebrate more traditional dishes, and in 2021 he brought tradition and fine dining together with the elegant a’Mare at Crown Sydney.