Locatelli's lot

The discord over his departure from Zafferano now behind him, Giorgio Locatelli is looking forward to opening his own restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, at London's Churchill Inter-Continental hotel.Amanda Afiya reports.

Giorgio Locatelli's life has always been one of extremes, and 2001 has proved no exception. The year got off to a turbulent start with Locatelli engrossed in wrangles with the directors of the A-Z Group. Having spent seven years as chef-proprietor of Zafferano, in London's Knightsbridge, Locatelli believed he had taken the restaurant as far as he could. He raised the fact that he wished to leave the restaurant, and after some heated arguments split from A-Z in March.

His fortunes improved the following month when he was awarded the Outstanding London Chef title at the London Restaurant Awards, but the break with A-Z left a scar on the 38-year-old chef for many months afterwards. "It hurt so much to leave Zafferano," Locatelli reflects. "When I left I can remember thinking to myself, ‘I didn't put my daughter to bed once in four years because I was cooking here'. Indeed, I almost gave more importance to that restaurant than to my own family."

A consultancy to Cecconi's, the Plaza Restaurant Group-owned restaurant in Burlington Gardens, provided Locatelli with an interesting learning curve throughout the summer, though. "The experience with Cecconi's has been brilliant," says Locatelli, who remains involved with the restaurant. But, as the year progressed, Locatelli hankered after a site of his own.

As 2001 draws to a close, Locatelli can be found in bright spirits. He can now talk philosophically about the separation from A-Z - he describes a recent meeting with its director Guiliano Lotto as "a nice discussion" - and he still holds a 25% share in Zafferano and its sister restaurant Spighetta, also in London. And, more importantly, he has secured a very optimistic future for himself and his family.

On 4 February Locatelli and his wife Plaxy will open Locanda Locatelli at the Churchill Inter-Continental in London's Portman Square. It presents an incredible deal for both parties in that it gives Locatelli a platform on which to present himself as an independent restaurateur, while the Six Continents-owned property can boast a connection with one of the most gifted chefs of our time.

Six Continents has spent £1.5m on the project, which has covered the conversion of the hotel's former Clementine's restaurant to the 90-seat Locanda Locatelli. David Collins has been drafted in to redesign the restaurant, while £500,000 has been spent on the kitchen, designed by Derek Hall and Locatelli.

Locatelli and the Churchill Inter-Continental have signed a joint 10-year service agreement with an additional five-year option. Locatelli will pay a turnover-related fee to the Churchill. "We have made no compromise in order to have complete control of our destiny," he explains.

The highs and lows of the past year have strengthened Locatelli, and he is able to compliment A-Z, and his successor, Andy Needham, on the successful running of Zafferano. "It makes me so happy to see Zafferano running so well," he says. "But for myself, I can't wait to get back to the stove. I look at Locanda and think I own it. I want to see my kids running around it. I want it to be for me, Plaxy and our daughter what the family restaurant, La Cinzianella (in Corgeno di Vergiate, Lombardy, Italy), is to the rest of my family."

Locanda Locatelli

In March the Churchill Inter-Continental decided to relocate its fine-dining restaurant, Clementine's, to its foyer, creating the 180-seat Terrace on Portman Square restaurant, and Clementine's became banqueting space. As part of the hotel's £8m refurbishment programme this year, however, the hotel now has five new banqueting rooms, leaving Clementine's up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Giorgio and Plaxy Locatelli approached restaurateur Roy Ackerman to discuss their future and he asked if they would consider leasing a restaurant within a hotel. "My immediate reaction was that I didn't want to go into a hotel," confides Locatelli, "but I thought I would talk to everyone I knew who operates a restaurant in a hotel environment."

Locatelli called, among others, Marco Pierre White, New York's Daniel Boulud, Gordon Ramsay, Mark Edwards of Nobu and John Burton-Race, and found their advice encouraging. "Once we agreed on the space, we had to set our own criteria. We wanted our own address, we wanted to be seen from the street (the restaurant entrance will be on Seymour Street) - people wouldn't even have to know we were attached to a hotel. And that's why we chose the name Locanda - somewhere where you can eat with rooms on the back."

The agreement was not all one-way, though, and the directors of Six Continents naturally wanted to check Locatelli out. And where better to look than the place where he had most left his mark - Zafferano. They headed off to the restaurant, where they just happened to sit next to John Malkovich, and then passed Madonna coming in as they were leaving, assuring the directors that Locatelli was indeed hot property. "The funny thing is," says Locatelli, "John Malkovich and Madonna never dined at the restaurant when I was there. Maybe it was divine intervention!"

Locatelli has been impressed by the personnel from the Churchill Inter-Continental, highly rating general manager Jürgen Baumhoff. "All the staff seem really motivated," says Locatelli. "The human resources is what makes this building what it is. Everybody has a very good attitude, everybody's very switched on. It gives me a really good feeling about the place."

Locatelli has set up a company called Find Charm, of which he and Plaxy are the directors. The company will take care of employing staff, will own the lease and the licence, while other elements of the company, such as payroll, will be bought in on a monthly basis. "In order to make a restaurant like that successful, you need to keep a very clean infrastructure," advises Locatelli. "It's just me and Plaxy."

In addition to Six Continents' £1.5m contribution to Locanda, Locatelli has put in a personal sum and he has also taken out a loan from NatWest.

The size of the restaurant, 160sq m, will enable Locanda to boast several large tables. Being able to accommodate families is important to Locatelli. "There will be a basic difference in the menu structure so that people will be able to share more dishes (for example, rabbit with polenta and Parmesan; and linguine with crab and chilli). And the tables will be quite generous (a standard table will measure 90cm by 100cm). This will allow us to do a little bit more with Italian food. What's most important?" asks Locatelli. "Yes, the food is important, but conviviality is paramount." Locanda will also sport four tables seating up to eight people and one table which will seat up to 14. Average spend will be £35 per head, including wine, at both lunch and dinner, and Locatelli hopes to avoid turning tables. There will also be no service charge or cover charge.

Locatelli is currently co-writing his first book, the name of which is yet to be decided, with Sheila Keating. It will be published by Forth Estate in the autumn next year. He is also in the process of filming a 15-part series for the new digital TV food channel, UK Food, which will be aired early next year.

Reports emerged two months ago that Fish Group chairman Tony Allan was also teaming up with Locatelli to launch a chain of pizza and pasta restaurants called Loco in and around London over the next few months.

"We are still at the drawing-board stage," says Locatelli. "I felt a little bit upset about the leak of this information to tell you the truth, because after so much work at Zafferano, all I left there with was my name and I think I really have to look after that. I do think there is space in the market for something like that, but Locanda is where I am going to be."