Floriano Pellegrino, Founder of Pellegrino Brothers
Business Lunch
Floriano Pellegrino leads one of the most innovative kitchens and restaurant groups in Italy. The Pellegrino Brothers Group houses a diverse range of concepts including the 1 Michelin-star Bros’ and local trattoria Roots.
Floriano obtained his first Michelin star in 2018 and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix au chef de l 'avenir from the Acadèmie internationale de la gastronomie and Rising Star in the Best Chef category. In 2020, he presented at the all-important gastronomic event Madrid Fusion. When he’s not experimenting with new techniques at his R&D lab, Meta, you can find him suiting up on the field with his rugby club.
On the day of Bros’ return, I caught up with Floriano to discuss reopening in Italy and the importance of diversifying your revenue streams.
BoFB: How has the lead up to reopening Bros’ this week been alongside developing a new menu?
Coincidentally, the reopening of Bros' happened at the same time that our new Spring/Summer edition was released. We are very happy to have been able to do it together since, for me, it has been a new beginning.
BoFB: Dining activity in the US recently exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Can we expect to see the same from diners in Italy?
Even though this situation has been so difficult for everyone, I really trust what we do and this is reflected by the first week results. We have had 50 more bookings compared to last year. So yes, from my point of view I can say that the same phenomenon is happening here in Italy.
BoFB: From e-commerce to developing a strong digital presence, leveraging technology is clearly important to you. Where do you plan to innovate next?
I want to keep following the path that we have built until now but also explore the management of new chefs. This will be the next stop in my holding company. It’s like having a record company but instead of working with musicians, we do it with cooks.
BoFB: This approach has led to a number of alternative revenue streams apart from the restaurants: sweets from Sista, jarred accompaniments from Roots, Bros’ merchandise. What do you think are some good ideas for restaurants to pursue if they want to diversify their revenue streams?
What I think that chefs have to do is to really think in a contemporary way. We must have clear ideas in order to penetrate the actual market which needs a real communication with a strong identity. Therefore, it’s necessary to work in chefs’ personality and create an “ad hoc” pathway from there. This is the key to success.
BoFB: Finally, your international food conference, Metaland, announced it was planning a return to a physical space. What can your share with us about the 2021 edition?
We can’t wait for it! Metaland is a very important part of the whole strategy that we have been pursuing for a long time. We want to bring the center of gravity more and more to the south of Italy. What I can reveal is that a lot of changes have been made compared to the original idea. It's nice to twist and change your mind, to grow on mistakes made. At this point, we know that Metaland will be a real party where we skip the conference situation to just have fun.