by Martino Mottichef
INTERVIEW WITH CHEF
FORTUNATO CARNOVALE
Where do you come from chef?
I’m Italian from Calabria. I was born in a town called Piscopio near Vibo
Valentia a sea port town where I lived up until 2000 when I relocated
to Siena in Tuscany. I stayed there for eleven years. Currently I am living
in Brazil with my son and wife.
How did you get acquainted with the sea?
Well thanks to a good friend of mine. Back in May 1996 Captain Paolo
Marino rings me up and asks me if I want to work through the summer
season on a 24 metre chartered yacht! I’ll never forget that experience
which led to a second season as well, and that got me started as crew
and cook.
Your training?
In the beginning I was self taught but I soon went on to assist a grand
chef and friend of mine Michele Sorrentino who was working out of
the Botteganova in Siena, then with only one Michelin star award. After
that I went on to attend several advanced courses at the Gambero
Rosso situated on the premises of the Città del Gusto di Roma. I’m
currently keeping abreast of things culinary through on line web sites,
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Which are your first recollections of what
went on in the kitchen?
My initial reminiscences go back to childhood, to the smells and unmis-
takeable pleasant whiffs of what my mother was cooking while I would
run up to her to look at what she was in the process of preparing,
evidently with unabashed spontaneous and artistic interest. In fact in
my early teens I went to art school as I enjoyed painting as well. Then at
about 24 I discovered I had a passion for cooking which led me to open
up Lo Zodiaco a small concern in Vibo Valentia which offered pizza and
beer essentially, in fact it is still very active today.
Your initial experiences at sea?
As mentioned beforehand I began thanks to my good friend and cap-
tain out of Vibo Marina where I worked for six seasons on ”Dolphin”
then on “Sea Weaver” another yacht for charter, but my most formative
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M/Y “TRIBU” sailing here and there around the globe.
Preceding experiences as Chef?
As already said an important one was no doubt thanks to the place I
had in Vibo Valentia which we later expanded into a bar and restaurant.
Then in Siena I worked for several restaurants.
How is working on board different to working
on land?
We’re looking at two distinct and totally different realities. On land you
generally have a team to work with to whom you delegate and organ-
ize accordingly. You have a menu for the given season which translates
into preparing the same dishes for three months at a time, albeit with
a number of daily improvements even. On board of yachts up to as
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everything from orders to stowing there’s no one to delegate anything
to. You must cater for lunches and dinners for the crew and guests,
which also means special requests and personal diets. Furthermore on
yachts you have to astonish guests as much as you possibly can.
Which are your current cuisine’s main fea-
tures?
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Cuisine” but with a pinch of innovation and personalisation of some ofTUNA TARTARE AND SOUSED AVOCADO PEAR WITH SOY
DROPS AND LIME JUICE. - FOR 4.
Ingredients:
300 gr. Tuna filet - 200 gr. avocado pulp - 50cl. Ligurian ex-
tra vergine olive oil - 50cl Soy sauce - 3/4 tufts of chopped
parsley - 4 chive stalks for decorative purposes - 4 gr. of soy
drops - Black pepper ad libitum.
Procedure:
Chop up the tuna fillet in ¼ inch cubes, same for the av-
ocado pear. Season the tuna separately with the olive oil,
soy sauce, pepper and parsley. Place it in the fridge for 30
minutes. Dress the avocado pear cubes with lime juice possi-
bly at time of chopping up place and leave in the fridge for
thirty minutes.
Assemble the dish as follows:
put an 8cm. ring in the centre of the serving plate. Place the
tuna first then add the avocado, and finally sprinkle with soy
drops, a little olive oil (always extra vergine) then add one
chive stalk on top. All the ingredients deployed are supplied
by Plusmarine in Genoa.