He started cooking as a necessity. Today he’s a top Bangkok chef at Shangri-La’s Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar

Despite having achieved virtually anything a chef dreams of, Bruno Ferrari has one goal clear in his mind: he wants to corroborate the status of Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar as one of the best Italian restaurants in Bangkok.

Helming Volti since its reopening in April 2023, Ferrari says he’s been keen to bring the flavours of Italy to Thailand. One of Shangri-La’s five on-site restaurants, Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar is a fine dining establishment that showcases the world’s best meats cooked in rustic, smoked and wood-fired Tuscan style.

‘Apart from excellent ingredients such as fresh mozzarella, Italy has traditional family recipes hard to find elsewhere,’ says the Italian-born chef who’s been in the culinary business for 29 years.

His passion for Italian cuisine didn’t start yesterday. ‘Coming from a humble background, as a boy I used to rustle up lunch because it was a necessity,’ Ferrari recalls. To earn some money aged 14, he worked part-time in several restaurants across Guardiagrele, his home town in the Abruzzo region near Rome.

The Italian was drawn to the experience as an intern, inspired by chefs, and decided to carve a career path on his own terms.

A young entrepreneur that rose to fame

Not even a year after reopening his first restaurant as a 21-year-old passed until the Michelin Guide named Ferrari the “Best Young Chef Patron in Italy.” Six years later, he received his first Michelin star. Needless to say, the accolade helped him become a chef people hold in high regard.

For all the achievements in his home country, Ferrari relocated to Switzerland to broaden his perspective. Opening a boutique Italian restaurant in Zurich was a decision he didn’t regret.

‘Leaving Italy gave me the chance to discover other culinary cultures, which educated my tongue and deepened my knowledge of food.’

Yet he never stopped thinking about Italy and moved back to his homeland a few years later. At a prestigious hotel in Turin, he worked as a consultant chef and was lauded for the food design and tasting activities he hosted while overseeing the operations of four different restaurants.

A long career path that led to Shangri-La in Bangkok

Bitten by the travel bug, Bruno Ferrari set off on travels to explore cuisines from Asia, including countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Vietnam, and India.

Honing his craft in five-star establishments like Bangalore’s JW Marriott, he happened to meet the manager of Shangri-La’s executive chefs. That man introduced himself after dining four times at Ferrari’s restaurant in Bangalore. Offered the opportunity to participate in a food tasting in Hong Kong arranged by the hotel chain, he jumped at the chance.

After six Skype interviews with the manager, Ferrari flew to Hong Kong as one of six chefs that were chosen out of 128 applicants. That’s how he landed the job at Shangri-La’s venue in Shanghai, which was new at the time.

After working his dream job at Jing An Shangri-La in Shanghai, he opened a catering business and offered private chef service. As a consultant chef, Ferrari opened no fewer than 14 Italian restaurants in major cities of China, the first one of which was featured in the Michelin Guide 2021.

Today, the 43-year-old executive chef of Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar, one of the must-try Bangkok restaurants, cooks Italian dishes with an Asian twist, including grilled mixed seafood platters or All’ Astice Boston lobster with lemon and Acquerello-aged rice from Turin.

Traditional Italian fare with modern enhancements

So what to eat in Bangkok? Volti’s menu tours Italy and Asia. Chef Bruno Ferrari is confident that with his specialities in classic Italian cuisine with contemporary twists, his skills will make for an unforgettable dining experience at Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar, one of the best fine dining restaurants in Bangkok.

As an Italian, Ferrari also serves starters like Insalata di Astice, which comes with Boston lobster topped with black olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and basil, and drizzled on is a lemon dressing.

Antipasti and truffle and mushroom soups with morels, black truffle, porcini and champignons from Italy are other delicacies.

To create melt-in-your-mouth beef and tastes to the highest standard, the meat is curated for days. As well as Angus from Queensland, the world’s finest meats include the pinnacle of beef, a full-blood 100% Japanese Wagyu, the rarest and highest Wagyu grade found in Japan.

Finally, it’s also the ambience of Volti Tuscan Grill & Bar that make for an unforgettable dining experience. Featuring Italian patterns and silky cream colours that fit into Shangri La’s brand, the restaurant has an open kitchen and an on-site bar. Whether diners enjoy river views through the window or watch the world go by during an al-fresco dinner on the outdoor terrace, one thing is certain: guests can experience Italy in every bite.