Rome with a view
Enrico Derflingher has held some illustrious posts as head chef. He has cooked at the White House (one year), for the Aga Khan (six years), and for the Prince and Princess of Wales (three years). Now he is firmly ensconced in one of Rome's smartest hotels, the Eden. In fact, he's been here since former owner Rocco Forte recruited him for the reopening of the hotel in 1994, declaring that he wanted "the best hotel restaurant in Rome" - which he got. Until then, hotel restaurants in Rome didn't have the best reputation.
Called La Terrazza, the rooftop restaurant has one Michelin star, plus a celebrity count that would make the Ivy envious, and Derflingher has no intention of moving on. Who could blame him? He has a kitchen with the same splendid view of the city for which the diners pay handsomely. "I saw the sunset and was hooked," he remembers. "They were going to put more bedrooms up here, but I said, ‘No, this is where I want my kitchen.'"
The road to fame
After starting out in the family-run trattoria, the 35-year-old from Lake Como has worked with some of the greats - Eckart Witzigmann, Charles Boyer, Roger Vergé, Fredy Girardet and Joël Robuchon (who was the most impressive, he says). He has also been head chef in some of Italy's most famous hotels, including the Villa San Michele in Fiesole and the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, to name just two.
Predictably, dining at the 60-seat La Terrazza doesn't come cheap. The average spend for lunch and dinner is about €140 (£90) without booze. Ninety per cent of diners choose from the à la carte menu, which changes with the seasons. Derflingher's food has a certain French discipline, but the ingredients are all Italian. He doesn't use flour or butter, only olive oil, from a choice of 35 producers. "I only use three or four ingredients in a dish. If I'm cooking fish, I want you to taste the fish - I see far too many ingredients being used in kitchens these days."
He pays particular attention to colour. "Each dish has a different colour. I make sure that a couple dining together don't get the same colours on a plate," he says.
Derflingher also looks after breakfast and room service for the hotel, now owned by Le Méridien. He and his 20-strong brigade make 10 different kinds of pasta every day and cherry-pick the best fish before it goes to the market. Most popular dishes on the menu include zucchini blossoms (perfectly intact) stuffed with ricotta cheese and black olives (€28/£18), and sea bass, baked with a dense black olive salt crust (cracked at the table) and served on a "potato pie" - thinly sliced discs roasted underneath the fish.
So what was it really like working for Charles and Di and just how did he manage to clinch that job anyway? "They asked the Italian ambassador in London to recommend an Italian chef," explains Derflingher. "It was a nice time to be with them, as the children were very young, but three years was enough. On some days I was cooking for 1,000, on others just for two."
La Terrazza, Hotel Eden, Via Ludovisi 49, 00187 Rome, Italy. Tel: 00 39 06 478121
A selection from the menu at La Terrazza
Codfish and pecorino cheese pancake with basil and tomato, €29 (£18.50)
Grilled foie gras escalope with candied rhubarb and pears, €35 (£22.50)
Potato gnocchi with sausage, broccoli and chicory, €25 (£16)
Garganelli with artichokes, pistachio nuts and duck ragoût, €25 (£16)
Browned John Dory with figs and orange compote, €35 (£22.50)
Ribs of lamb wrapped with peppers and nettle, €37 (£24)
Fillet of tuna with mint and green apple, €35 (£22.50)
Chocolate mousse with almonds and honey biscuits, celery syrup sauce, €19 (£12.50)
Flavoured peach millefeuille with Moscato and fresh basil, €18 (£11.50)
