Chef's Profile

Renato Piccolotto was born January 28, 1954 in the province of Treviso, Italy. He started his career in 1971 as a "commis de cuisine" at the Villa Cipriani in Asolo where he was trained by the founder of Harry’s Bar, Giuseppe Cipriani.

Since 1970, Piccolotto has been working at the Hotel Cipriani in Venice and was already a member of the Kitchen Brigade when Natale Rusconi joined the hotel as its General Manager in 1977. 

After being "sous-chef" for a few years, Piccolotto was promoted to Chef de Cuisine in 1990. In this position, he upholds the Great Cooking Tradition inaugurated by Giuseppe Cipriani.

Piccolotto’s gastronomic philosophy is to offer his guests authentic Venetian dishes in which the flavour of the ingredients is given pride of place. The outcome is a cuisine which is remarkably unpretentious and honest, yet luxurious and constructed with passion and flair. Our signature dishes include fegato di vitello alla Veneziana con crostoni di polenta bianca – Venetian style sliced calf’s liver sautéed with onions and accompanied by grilled white polenta croûtons – orecchiette padellate con castraure, acciughe e ricotta affumicata – small sized fresh pasta with baby artichokes grown on our premises – and the famous taglierini verdi al prosciutto gratinati – fresh thin green noodles with ham, au gratin. Many of the herbs used in the preparation and seasoning of our dishes come from the Cipriani’s vegetable garden.

The same concept applies to the extensive cellar and wine assortment which includes our own Casanova Salso Wine, produced with grapes grown in the gardens of the Cipriani. Regional and Italian wines dominate the comprehensive wine-list, which also includes a wide variety of rare European and International wintages.

In 1988, Renato Piccolotto took part in two "cooking master classes": the first one at "La Residence de la Côte d’Or, Soulieu-France, owned by Bernard Loiseau. The second one at "Le Divellec", Paris-France, owned by Jacques le Divellec which contributed an international flare to his less traditional culinary endeavours.

Renato Piccolotto has taken part in many Food Festivals organised by the Cipriani in England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Monte-Carlo as well as in the United States, Australia and Japan.

Cipriani's 50th Anniversary Dinner

This May, Renato will be preparing a special tasting menu in celebration of the Hotel Cipriani's 50th Anniversary aboard the British Pullman train, departing from Victoria Station, London.

For tickets and more information, please click here.