About Chef Stefano Di Gennaro
Chef-Owner
Quintessenza, Italy

Chef Stefano tied his apron as a teenager. In 2004, after graduating from the hotel institute of Molfetta, passionate about his profession and seduced by the idea of ​​deepening it, he decided to leave Puglia to begin a training course that led him to deal with other realities of cuisine and cultures gastronomic. A self-taught chef, Chef Stefano loves his land and captures its essence by working with raw ingredients of high quality. His cuisine presents itself with a personal style that respects the territory but develops without confining itself to limits and definitions. In August 2011, Quintessenza Ristorante opened its doors, the fulfillment of a dream but also a new starting point.

About Chef Simone Loisi
Chef de Cuisine
Waterfall Ristorante Italiano, Singapore

Chef Simone’s culinary journey began at a tender age of 13, helping out at his brother’s restaurant back in his hometown of Puglia, Italy – a region well-known for some of the most famous and best pasta dishes and burrata cheese. Coming from a region steeped in such rich heritage and tradition, he was inspired to pursue his passion at a hotel school in Bari, Italy, where he later clinched opportunities to apprentice as Chef de Partie at hotels and resorts in Italy, as well as honed his craft further at various stints in neighbouring France and Malta.

Having amassed a wealth of multi-faceted experiences, Chef Simone eventually garnered the position of Head Chef at Restaurant Da Sergio in Monaco Ville, where he worked at for 5 years. Through sheer serendipity, he ventured out of Europe and found himself in Singapore in 2018, where he helmed the kitchen at the popular iO Italian Osteria, known for serving up rustic Italian dishes and wood-fired pizzas.

“Solo con umiltà e passione, si può cucinare bene e con amore”, which translates to “only with humility and passion, will one be able to cook well and with love”, is a motto Chef Simone has held close to his heart since the beginning of his culinary journey. His cooking philosophy is an honest and grounded one; inspired by tradition with quality ingredients and a rustic flair – handmade pastas and Pugliese classics are undoubtedly his pièce de resistance.