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CHEF FORTUNATO MAZZONE
Fortunato is co-owner of multi award winning five star graded Ristorante Ritrovo in Pretoria with his father, well known chef and Italian food pioneer in South Africa Giovanni Mazzone. He is also involved in the Olive Oil and Wine business. His passion in life apart from food and writing, which he pursues as part of his commitment to the upliftment of standards in the hospitality industry in South Africa, is Opera. Fortunato sits on the board of the Black Tie Opera Ensemble Fund and has devoted much time, energy and funding to see this group of singers mostly from previously disadvantaged communities grow to become the resident Opera Company of the State Theatre in Pretoria. For this project he was greatly honoured to be awarded the prestigious BASA or Business Arts South Africa award for being the small business that did the most to support the arts in South Africa during 2003.
Fortunato is a member of the SA Chefs Association, and the Vice-Echanson of The Ordre Mondial. As the Conseilleur Culinaire honoraire of the International Gastronomic Society of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, he is required to deliver comment on issues of food and wine from a professional perspective. Fortunato was invited to take part as a South African superchef at the Gauteng Good Food and Wine Show from 2003-2006, and in 2005 and 2006 was a feature chef at the Cape Good Food and Wine Show. This involves demonstrations and theatre of food with other major international chefs. Fortunato is on the selection panel of the Sunday Times SA Chef of the year 2007 and has been elected to the Sunday Times Food Council. In 2007 and 2008 he was one of the feature chefs on the Sunday Times / BBC Food International Food Show together with Reza Mohamed, Gino D’Acampo and Ainsley Harriot.
He also judges many jeune-commis chef competitions, and through the Cape wine academy has achieved his national diploma in wine. He is involved in the wine industry both from a production (as a collaborator in the award winning range of Nick and Forti’s Wines produced at Tulbagh farm Saronsberg) and retail perspective. Fortunato believes this gives him a unique perspective on wine issues. Through an association with Chris Bosch of the farm Living Waters in Paarl, Fortunato is involved in the production of super premium organic extra virgin olive oil, which is bottled under the Ritrovo label. “These projects are a direct result of my produce driven approach to cooking, which for me is an obsession….an absolutely no-compromise approach.” He has presented and regularly appears in programs on food and wine issues on SABC 2, SABC 3, Kyknet, Radio 702, Radio Today, Jacaranda FM, Radio RSG, Cape Talk and M-Net. Fortunato contributes food and/or wine articles in various national publications. His restaurant Ritrovo in Pretoria recently was the first recipient of the South African Tourism Grading Boards Platinum Star Award in addition to his 5 star grading.
Current projects for 2008 include a cookbook with SA food writer Gwynne Conlyn and an expansion to his hugely successful chain of upmarket kitchen stores “High-End Kitchens” that caters to the professional and high-end domestic market with the opening of branches in Namibia and the Cape. In October 2006 the uber trendy BICCCS (Bread, Icecream, Cake, Croissant, Coffee, Sandwiches!!!) opened. This funky shop is a prototype store for an Italian Gelateria and coffee bar bakery concept situated at the Waterkloof Heights Centre. The shop was the realization of a joint dream with his father Giovanni. “ I earnestly believe life should never be static or boring and you can taste the passion and happiness in my food!!”
GIOVANNI MAZZONE
Chef Giovanni Mazzone hails originally from near Naples in Italy and has been active and one of South Africa’s most respected chefs since 1964. His career that started in humble Pizzeria’s and the first wood burning pizza oven in South Africa, has spanned several important chef positions including the original Sardi’s Club 1000, Toty’s at the Carlton, and the founding in 1976 of the mythical Giovanni’s in Pretoria, the restaurant many credit with starting the Italian food craze in South Africa.
After many subsequent branches of Giovanni’s, Giovanni realized a dream by opening a top haute cuisine Italian establishment called Ritrovo in partnership with his son Fortunato, also a chef in March 1995. This father and son combo have gone on to amass a series of foodie awards across the spectrum these last fourteen years and seen Ritrovo establish itself as one of South Africa’s most pre-eminent restaurants and a regular feature in the list of the top 10 South African restaurants.
Chef Giovanni has taken several commis chefs under his wings these last few years including some young talent from South Africa’s most famous chef schools, and made his TV debut on SABC 2 in 2004 teaching viewers about the real classic Pizza. Not only a mentor to his son he is a well respected and popular teacher of classic Italian Cooking skills to many student chefs who do their practicals at Ritrovo.
Giovanni continues to experiment with Gelato and with his restored 1955 Carpigiani Ice cream churner he astonished Tshwane audiences in 2006 with the opening of BICCCS (Bread, Ice cream, Cake, Croissant, Coffee, Sandwich!!!). His continued life long obsession with bread also found expression in the super premium Italian traditional breads that are being produced for the public for the first time at BICCCS in 2006. His life continues to be exciting and relevant cementing his position as one of the pillars of the Italian Culinary establishment. For his contributions to the art of Italian Cuisine, and adherence to the traditions of the classic Italian Kitchen in the outside world, Giovanni received an award from the Italian Government in 2005. Giovanni appeared in the 2007 Sunday Times BBC Food show presenting the show Pizza Maestro’s.
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