Domenico Cicchetti has been appointed as Head Chef at Caffe Mondo at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou

In his new tenure at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou, Cicchetti plans to introduce light Mediterranean dishes with a focus on fresh seafood - a favourite both in his homeland and in China - crafted with his trademark passion for seasonality and local produce. He is also excited to develop the talents of the young chefs in his team, viewing life in the kitchen as a perpetual learning experience for everyone.

No stranger to China, Cicchetti's intuitive talent and finesse has seen him work for some of the world's leading hospitality brands - including Soho House, Accor Hotels, Marriott International and the Gaia Group - in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Macau, as well as Hong Kong, Bahrain and across Europe.

Throughout his garlanded career, Cicchetti has won acclaim for his innovative approach. While remaining true to his Italian roots, he prides himself on being endlessly adaptable, using the very best local produce rather than importing items, and championing technique and passion over the "old-fashioned" belief that authentic Italian food demands only Italian products.

Born in the small village of Treglio, in Abruzzo, Italy, Cicchetti was picking olives and tending grapes in his family's smallholding from the age of nine, learning firsthand about the labour required to honour age-old traditions. Inspired to create in the kitchen by the vast array of dishes he encountered at lavish wedding ceremonies he attended as a child, he took his first step into the world of the culinary arts at a famed local artisanal gelateria. Recognizing that his future lay in the kitchen, he honed his craft at Abruzzo culinary college, where he specialized in Italian and French techniques, and later at Westminster Kingsway College in London.

It is this idea of coming together over food that Cicchetti hopes to communicate through his dishes at the Hotel's Mediterranean gem, with its bird's-eye Canton Tower views. These days, as a father himself, he also recognizes how his role has changed to encompass more of a nurturing, unified approach towards his team too.

While Cicchetti is flexible and nurturing, he remains flawlessly professional. The scale he has worked on during the span of his career has been huge - in Macau, he headed the kitchen of a 3,000-room hotel that would serve 600 covers in an evening - but even now, each plate he creates remains an intimate conversation between chef and guest.