i. Biography
Hackney is the working ground: seasonal British ingredients handled with quiet precision, fermentation used as a tool rather than a point of theatre, and ceramics by Sam Marks setting a handmade register at the table. At Casa Fofō in Hackney, London, Adolfo de Cecco has been chef and owner, building a daily changing five-to-seven-course tasting menu with a global scope. The restaurant reads as exacting and open-ended at once: rooted in east London, but alert to ideas and techniques that travel beyond it.
Coming Up
The early years began in the least glamorous post in the kitchen, with Adolfo de Cecco working as kitchen porter at an Italian restaurant in Amsterdam. From there, the route moved quickly and across borders, with each kitchen adding another layer of range and discipline. They were chef at Perbellini in Italy, then chef at a two Michelin star restaurant in Italy, before moving on to De Pisis in Venice, where service and fine-dining pace would have sharpened further. The sequence then continued to Tetsuya's in Sydney, and after that to a restaurant ranked 4th on the San Pellegrino 50 Best list in Brisbane. Before Casa Fofō became the present tense of de Cecco’s work, there was Pidgin in Hackney, where they served as former head chef until 2019. That period placed them in the same neighbourhood that would later become their base, making the move to their own restaurant feel like a continuation rather than a break. Since 2019, Adolfo has been chef and owner of Casa Fofō, carrying that accumulated geography into a single room without tying the cooking to one fixed reference point.
Where They Are Now
De Cecco now runs their own kitchen as chef and owner in Hackney, where Casa Fofō in Hackney, London, works with a format that is compact but changeable. The menu shifts daily, moving through five to seven courses, so the meal reads less like a fixed set and more like a practice in adjustment. Its global scope keeps the cooking from settling into a single local idiom, while still remaining anchored in one corner of east London. Fermentation sits inside the kitchen’s language, giving ingredients another register without overwhelming what they already are. The ceramics by Sam Marks also matter here: the food is served on them, and that material choice shapes the meal before a plate is even described. They are part of the restaurant’s structure, not decoration, and they help define how the cooking is received. The beef fat pommes darphin appears on the menu as a named snack, and it says a lot in a small space. Potato, fat, heat, and structure are all present in the same bite, which makes the kitchen’s priorities plain: technique used cleanly, richness kept in check, and no need to overstate the point. Casa Fofō works this way throughout — alert, mobile, and committed to daily change without losing control of the details.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Adolfo
What is Adolfo de Cecco's current role?
As of 2026, Adolfo de Cecco is Chef and Owner.
Where did Adolfo de Cecco work before?
Adolfo de Cecco's earlier career included Italian restaurant, Perbellini, and two Michelin star restaurant.
What recognition has Adolfo de Cecco received?
Michelin Star (2021).
