Alessandro
Pipero
A personality that draws you in right from the first moment, “I am crazy, but not mad. If you use well your craziness, you can get brilliant results, while no good comes from a madman”: Alessandro Pipero, the maître par excellence of the homonymous starred restaurant in Rome.
His journey began at a young age. He attended the hotel school, choosing the address that would have taken him straight to the dining room and not to the kitchen – ”I’ve always liked being among people, in a kitchen you don’t meet anyone” -, he is defined by Forbes Italy as the “restaurant manager who revolutionized hospitality”.
A revolution that is simple to be thought and perfect in its success. Welcoming a customer in the dining room is, to Alessandro, like receiving friends in his own place, where prep plans take place with what he calls “positive anxiety” of having every room tidy and clean and everything prepared at best. The nuance that makes Pipero’s atmosphere unique draws heavily on
Alessandro’s sensibility. A dining experience in his restaurant lasts, in fact, from two and a half to three hours, where the act of tasting chef Ciro Scamardella’s dishes lasts no longer than thirty minutes. So what do you do to keep the customer from getting bored? You try to study who is in front of you, because “every table has an identity and must be understood,” and to fill the downtime with stories, chatter, and smiles.
He confesses that he dealt with many types of customers and is prepared almost to everything, although he never got used to poor education: it is always difficult and energy consuming to digest and manage it, even for the most experienced ones.
Alessandro tells us that he chose Parmacotto Selection not only because of the very high degree of reliability of its production process and of the raw material choice, but also because of the people who are part of the company. Because human relationships come first.
It is precisely a human, a very human relationship that he has with his favorite soccer team, Roma. “Three Michelin stars or the Italian league? I would choose the Italian league forever!”, Pipero admits that one of the places he loves about Rome is the Olimpic Stadium, as well as the restaurant with salumeria Roscioli. His partner is a separate chapter, the one and only choice to take to a desert island and favorite chef ever of his favorite dish, spaghetti with clams.
A true host, able to turn the experience in his restaurant into something unique and unrepeatable. A determined soul, pleasant and sizzling like his favorite scent “that of sauté,” a man who loves washing the dishes at home, because keeping things in order relaxes him. As he prepares the restaurant hall, our Pipero likes listening to DeGregori’s “Grazie Roma” and “Generale”, always bringing a fork in his breast pocket, “just in case I need to taste something.”
One piece of advice he would give to himself as a child? “Be yourself, never emulate, people already emulate too much.” A piece of advice that, that child must have learned tremendously well.
